We always fail destiny
by achildofthestars
Summary: Lois/Clark. Set after Power and then goes AU. Lois has a visitor who looks remarkably like an older Clark Kent.
1. Didn't mean to leave you stranded

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Everything up to 'Power' and then it goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

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He opened his eyes to the bright sky of a clear morning, blues and purples with three slashes of orange scraping across his vision. His breathing was even, deep, nearly mechanic as he brought a strong hand up to set his skewed glasses correctly over his nose. For a minute he thought about lying in the grass for a few more minutes, maybe hours, but that was when he remembered the dream he'd had.

His head had literally split in two. Disjointed and disfigured, the two halves met the other in a clash that couldn't make them whole again. He'd cried out for her, always her, but the voice that had always saved him before was silent and reproachful. Heavy knees then hit the ground, shaking the earth and uprooting the nearby trees, creating a chasm in the sky that had swallowed him whole, or as whole as he could be without Lois Lane.

In a second he was standing, his back tense for fear of a threat, his muscles tight in preparation of a war. In the space of another second he relaxed, his crisp white button up shirt breathing a sigh of relief until it held for long ticks of a wired metronome. This was his farm. The grass smelled the same. The trees whispered the same tune. Even the dirt coughed alike. But it was the barn that caught his attention.

The wood was caved in, leaving half of the building hanging onto itself and the other half making love to the ground. He hadn't done this. He never allowed this and his brows met together in confusion as he supersped to the damaged memory.

'_No_.' He lifted a few chunks of wood and ended up watching it fall to rotting crumbs in his hands. Without thinking he turned, half expecting to see the childhood home crushed to the ground with wooden stakes proclaiming the burial site. His sigh of relief was muffled as he made his way up the steps and touched the front door, a barely shaking hand resting on the knob before turning it.

The dust was solid, clinging to his slacks and drifting into his hair. There wasn't enough of him to keep walking inside of a deserted place that reeked of ghosts and longings forgotten. Everything was covered, smothered in plastic and drapings that were designed to keep the objects free from years of disuse.

Clark Kent couldn't halt the whir in his throat that proclaimed all of this was wrong. There was supposed to be sun shining through open windows and plastic fruit Lois had bought in hopes he would think it was real. His articles weren't lying on the kitchen table where he'd started doing most of his work when the other rooms began to haunt him too much.

This wasn't his world. This wasn't the world he'd lived in for the past fifty years. And that meant…. His eyes widened before he frantically ran outside and shot off into the changing sky. It meant Lois could still be alive.

* * *

Self-conscious, he pulled the lapels of his trench coat closer to his body as he took a small step back. On the other side of the street, he watched her enter the double glass doors to Gotham Gazette, her brunette hair swaying in her ponytail and her lower legs showing from under a coal colored skirt. There was a tiny smile tugging at his lips as he recalled a conversation she'd had with him years ago concerning her wardrobe.

_"Do you like it?"_

_"Yes."_

_She groaned, turning around and planting her hands on her hips in the middle of their bedroom._

_"Smallville, I need you to be honest."_

_"I am."_

_Unbuttoning the jacket, she kept staring at him with a tight mouth as if she was about ready to kick him. Inwardly, he was beginning to feel the need to pretend there was some sort of Superman emergency far, far away._

_"Lois, I can't help it if you look fantastic in everything."_

_"You're a terrible liar."_

_"And you know I'm not stupid enough to lie to you. I happen to value my life, thank you very much."_

_Freeing herself form the confining jacket, she stepped between his knees which were hanging off from the edge of their bed while his upper body controlled the majority of the rest of the space. She bent down, placing her hands on either side of his waist, letting her damp hair fall onto his open shirt as he swallowed loudly._

_"Do you think Ollie would be of more help to me?"_

_She was on her back before she could blink with his raised eyebrow begging her to ask the question again._

_"__Clark__Kent__! Not fair!"_

Feeling her warmth pulling him towards her, he closed his eyes and reminded himself that this was not _his _Lois Lane. This Lois already had her hero, Clark. His steps were rushed as he crossed the road and he ducked his head as he passed a few idling cars waiting for a red light to turn green. The concrete was solid under his shoes and he was sure if he wasn't careful he would leave cracks in the sidewalk. By the time he opened the doors he already knew where she was, his ears still attuned to her heartbeat and the exasperated sigh she never failed to give. He chose the stairs, knowing it would be empty, and reached the twelfth floor before the stairwell door had closed behind him with a light click.

His eyes were focused on her face, a frown creasing her forehead and a pen in between her lips as she listened to a blonde man's impassioned speech about a hero in Gotham's midst. She waited for him to finish before slipping the tip of the pen out of her mouth and writing something on the pages he'd laid on her desk.

"Lois, this has the potential to be the biggest story ever!"

"You may be right. You may also be psychotic. Either way, if you want to write this story, you're going to need some proof."

"I gave you proof!"

"You gave me stories." She picked through a few of the papers. "Woman saved by hero. Boy witnesses savior. Man says he saw a flying person."

"They all _saw_ something!"

"When _you_ see something, we'll talk about how he might _actually_ be a hero. Until then, you've got an article on Dr. Thompson's speech at City Hall due tomorrow."

The blonde man took the pages Lois was holding out to him and looked as if he had every intention of going back to work when he suddenly turned around.

"I'm not giving up on this story, Lane."

Something flickered across her face and he felt the conflicting emotions as if her feelings were his own.

"The best ones never do."

She looked down at her lap for a few seconds before straightening her back and swiveling in her chair to begin typing on her keyboard with quick strokes and fluid movements. He lost himself then, just for a little. She was so much younger, less shaped, more unaware. But she was always Lois, strong and pig headed, fiery and untameable.

"Lois Lane?"

Her head swung up at her name, her mouth already opening in response. "That's me. What do you want?"

His knees nearly gave way at her direct stare, those hazel eyes unchanged and still calling for his heart. He smiled, unable to halt it even though it would start the alarm bells in her head.

"You're really here," he murmured.

Lois immediately narrowed her eyes, trying to remember where she'd seen him from. The black rimmed glasses gave her no help and neither did the gray streaked hair that framed his angular features. Those eyes, though, they swallowed her whole.

"Do I know you?"

"Yeah, I mean, no." He shook his head, mentally kicking himself. "I've read some of your articles. They're great."

"Thank you," Lois replied warily. "Is there a particular reason you're here?"

"I," he looked around them, trying to find a reasonable explanation before she tried to push him out of the window, and then it hit him. "I was hoping you could help me find Clark Kent."

"Clark Kent?"

"Yes."

With a barely audible scoff, Lois sat back in her chair and looked up at the stranger.

"What do you want with him?"

"Old friend of the family. His birthday's coming up."

She tilted her head slightly and he knew she was trying to pick up on his awkward scent.

"What was your name?"

He panicked. His mind raced and he swallowed air he hadn't known he'd breathed. He should've been more prepared. Scratch that. He should've _been_ prepared. Hadn't Lois taught him anything? Clark Kent. He could go with Kent. No. Cal. No. Kel. No way. Carl. Definitely not. Clark Kent. Clark Kent. Clark. Kent.

"Clent. Clent Jones."

"Alright," she paused. "_Clent_. If you're such a good friend of the family why don't you know where Clark is?"

"It's been a long time. And I did go to Smallville but from the look of things, no one lives at the Kent's anymore."

Lois stood, her arms crossing over her black blouse as she chewed the inside of her cheek. This time she looked him over carefully. Black dress shoes slightly scuffed. Equally black slacks that held long and thick legs. A white collared shirt a little wrinkled where it tucked into the top of his pants. She didn't let herself focus on his broad chest and flat stomach barely covered by his trench coat. His glasses were, by all accounts, geeky in her dictionary, hiding dark blue eyes that seemed to looking at her as if he'd known her since she was born. His face, young but old, chiseled and strong, held wrinkles at the outskirts of his eyes and two very faint lines hovering around his beckoning lips. Jet black hair completed the picture, thick and wavy with broad gray streaks at his temples and brother strands peppering lightly the rest.

In fact, if she didn't know any better…. Lois felt her mouth drop slightly.

"Oh, my God. You're Clark's father aren't you?" She rushed out the rest of her thoughts. "I mean his biological father."

The last thing he wanted to do was lie to her.

"Don't…tell anyone, please."

"Maybe we should take this somewhere more private." _But with witnesses_.

"Okay," he breathed. "Where?"

* * *

She contemplated many things for the hour before her early lunch break. While researching her newfound stranger in Gotham's database, she thought of calling Clark. It was ridiculous and she didn't, not when he'd made clear where they stood.

A beep from her computer pulled her up short.

"Who the hell are you?" she frowned.


	2. I wish I could say to you

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

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'_Clark__'_, he mentally groaned. '_Clent, be calm_.' Taking a sip of water from his glass, he scanned the restaurant again, more nervous than afraid of a threat that was Lois. He felt like he was meeting her for their first date again.

_"Evening, Mr. Punctual."_

_Clark turned in his chair and nearly tripped over his feet to stand._

_"Wow, you look…."_

_"Amazing?" She finished for him, raising her eyebrows and planting her hands on her red clad hips in mock pose._

_"Uh, well, yeah." He finally made out. "Here, sit down."_

_The perfume she was wearing invaded his senses as he bent down to help her with her chair. He nearly lowered his head to taste her neck before she deftly ducked away._

_"__Kent__, I promised you a date. Don't get any other ideas."_

_Embarrassed, __Clark__ pushed his glasses further up his nose as he sat down opposite her._

_"Don't worry, Lane. I was just testing you."_

_"Really?" She chuckled, knowing better._

_"Of course. Now I know I don't have to worry about you wanting to jump me later on."_

_Lois smiled slowly until a grin was etched on her perfect face._

_"In your dreams, Smallville."_

"More than punctual, aren't you?"

"Bad habit," he replied without thinking, turning in his seat at her teasing voice.

Lois felt herself smiling as she walked past him.

"Let me help you with your chair, Lois."

A quiet calm surged over her when he smiled down at her, lips genuinely caring, teeth white and clean. Because she didn't know the reason for such a response, she frowned at him.

"Ah, I'm sorry." He pulled away, clearing his throat when he sat down. "You hungry?"

"Actually, not that much."

"Right," Clent smirked. "You want the story."

With a tight shrug Lois tried to still her booming curiosity. "I _am_ a reporter."

At that, Clent smiled with real joy for what felt like the first time in two years. His Lois and this Lois were so much the same.

"Shoot, Miss Lane."

"Alright. Why'd you abandon Clark?"

He might have bitten off more than he could chew with this story. He knew this would happen. He stalled.

"You don't hold back."

"I find the direct approach is usually the best. So?"

"I," he glanced around their table, "wasn't ready for the responsibility."

"And now you think you are? Clark already has – had a father."

"No, it's nothing like that, Lois."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know." He didn't have to lie this time. "I just want to make sure he's happy."

Lois found his direct stare unnerving, almost like he was completely opening himself to her with no fear or reservation. Her guard fell down slightly and she frowned as she felt herself slowly leaning forward.

"You just want to see if he's happy?"

"Yes."

She could feel her frown deepen and she tried to tell herself this man was a stranger with no ties anywhere, except for maybe Clark.

"I'm sure he is. You may be a deadbeat for giving Clark up, but if you hadn't, he never would've had the Kent's as his family."

"They were good people."

Not catching the solid statement, she nodded her head slowly.

"Yeah, they were. Which is why I won't let you hurt their son."

A strong determination glinted in her eyes and Clent wanted to kiss her then and there. He even leaned into her as she started to speak.

"I don't know who you are, but I know you aren't Clent Jones. I searched every database I could and you don't exist."

"I can explain that."

"How?" She leaned in closer.

"I live off the grid."

"How convenient."

"I'm telling the truth."

"No you're not."

"I am. Lois, if people knew who I am I'd never be able to live a normal life."

"So you spend your days feeding the poor and living in holes? I don't believe you. You've got one last chance to tell me the truth? Who are you and what do you want with Clark?"

"I know you want to protect him but I just want to know if he's okay. That's all you have to tell me and I'll go away."

He could tell she wasn't swayed. That was his Lois after all. He leaned back in defeat, searching her face, trying not to scare her.

"Fine. Can you tell me if _you're_ happy?"

The question didn't sound conniving in any way. He seemed to honestly want to know the answer and it scared her to a depth she didn't know existed because he was no one to her and no one was that sincere. No one but Clark.

"Of course I'm happy. I'm working at New York's finest paper. My apartment is huge. My boyfriend is Bruce Wayne."

"You're what?!"

"What?"

"You're dating Bruce?"

"Yes."

Clent had to grind his teeth. He shoved his dark glasses up the bridge of his nose and was surprised he didn't break the flimsy thing into two pieces. This wasn't right. He was going to kill Bruce.

"Why aren't – ? Who – ? What kind of – ?"

"What's wrong!?"

Standing, Clent could only shake his head. "The Daily Planet, did you ever work there?"

Lois stood herself. "Yeah, with Clark for a little while. Why?"

Mind reeling in whir of impossibilities, he stuffed his arms into his coat.

"Where is he? I need to find him, Lois."

The sudden turn of his attitude confused her and she completely forgot about her reservations.

"I don't know."

"This isn't a time to games."

"I'm not playing anything!" she snapped. "I haven't seen Clark since I left for Star City four years ago. He was already gone with Lana when I came back to Metropolis."

"Lana?" Clent frowned.

"Lana Lang."

"The pink vomit of drama?"

If she hadn't been on such a hard edge she would've laughed. Instead, she nodded her head once as she grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair.

"I think I'm beginning to like you, old man."

-

She paced quickly and in a large circle that led from her door to the windows kissing her balcony. Her bare feet whispered against the white carpet and Lois sighed, tapping her cell phone against her thigh as she looked at the clock sitting on her desk shoved against a wall partition. For the seven hours since Clent left her in the restaurant, she'd been wondering why Clark Kent was suddenly in her life again.

Making another aggravated circle, she let herself linger in the past. She hadn't left Smallville with thoughts of never returning home. She'd just left thinking it was time to start a new chapter.

Her left foot dragged slightly as she remembered Chloe's phone call full of fear and sadness, heartbroken at Clark's disappearance with Lana. Lois had felt something utterly opposite – rage. In the end, it had been easier than she'd thought it would be: moving on without him. All she'd done was pretend he never existed. Even Chloe had followed her lead eventually.

Lois started as the object in her hand began to ring but quickly recovered as she glanced down at the caller I.D.

"Bruce, did you find anything?"

"No. It's like he dropped off the planet. I've been looking everywhere but Clark Kent hasn't existed for years."

Sitting down on her bed, Lois leaned her elbows on her knees.

"There's got to be something, Bruce. What about Lana?"

"Her, I might have something. I came across this story where a woman was pulled from a bus wreck by someone named Lende. A, and I quote, 'breathtaking dark haired beauty who kept me alive by telling me a story about a young girl who fell in love with the boy next door at a farm.'"

Lois was quiet a moment, debunking the story piece by piece with her rational mind.

"I know it's a stretch, Lois. But it's all I have on short notice."

"No, it's more than I had earlier, I guess. Thanks, Bruce."

"Lois?"

"Yeah?"

"Why the sudden interest in Clark and Lana?"

There was no reason _not_ to trust him. Honestly, she trusted him with her life and then some, but Clent had sworn her to secrecy and that somehow meant more sacred to her.

"Wedding invitations."

She could feel the glare from the other end.

"I don't like it when you keep secrets, Lane. It always gets you in trouble."

"It does not."

"May 23rd, you posed as a candy striper and ended up getting thrown out of a window. July 4th, a celebratory day of freedom, you manage to get kidnapped and nearly blown into a million bits."

"Hey, hey! _One_. I got my front page stories."

"While also _being_ a front page story!"

"Besides the point. _Two_. I made it out alive."

"Only because some dark bat has the hots for you."

"Ah," she smiled. "Now I see what this is about."

"And what's that, Lois?"

"You're jealous of Gotham's new mysterious winged savior."

"Hardly."

"You are, Bruce Wayne. I never thought I'd see the day."

Bruce snorted. "Me? Jealous of a man who thinks it's Halloween every day and so he self-indulges in his bat fetish?"

Considering the day that had been unfolding, Lois buried herself in his voice, the lightness, the calm. He'd been her anchoring line for so long, and it surprised her that she just now realized she'd drifted so far from him today.

"I love you."

His end was silent and for two breaths and she immediately regretted saying it because now he would concretely know something was up.

"I love you too, Lois. Still keeping your lips sealed?"

"Lois Lane doesn't give back her word."

"No," he sighed with a slight tilt at the end. "No, she doesn't. I hate that."

Smiling, Lois stood, anxiously hoping her timing was correct and a knock would sound on her door. It didn't.

"You tend to hate all my endearing qualities, Bruce."

"What endearing qualities?"

"I'm hanging up now. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, fair lady. Don't forget to set your security system."

"Yeah, yeah, General."

"I'm serious, Lois. This isn't a safe city."

"I've set it every night since I moved here."

"And every night I have to remind you or you wouldn't."

"I think my Bat-man would rescue me."

The hush fell over and Lois faltered in her steps leading to the white bathroom. When his voice returned the edges were tinged so heavily they nearly dropped in her ears.

"He can't always be focused on you, Lois. Don't push it. Please."

"Well, someone's been watching Lifetime lately. Don't worry Bruce. I promise to stay alive through the night."

"Good."

"Yes."

"Goodnight, then. Love you."

"'Night. Love you too."


	3. What would you say if I said you could

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

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_He didn't know when it had started, maybe from the moment she'd found him in the field. He'd just been so set against it._

_Finding her now, head propped on an arm and eyes fully closed in what he guessed was a peaceful sleep, or as peaceful a sleep as Lois allowed, __Clark__ reached forward, weighing the pros and cons of such a foolish action._

_Softly, his finger picked a long lock of her dark hair that had looped over her cheek and slipped it behind her ear. For a few seconds he imagined she smiled, even though he knew she really scowled._

_Deciding that if there was one other thing beside green kryptonite that could end him, it was Lois, he smiled and left her undisturbed in her chair._

_"Live to fight another day, __Clark__", he sighed._

He always did like to watch her sleep. Mostly because it was the one time she was absolutely quiet and not angry at him. Clent fought the urge to sit on the edge of the bed where a bare leg was flung out from under the covers. He fought the urge to leave, every rational thought in his mind telling him he shouldn't involve her in this mess. He was a man of battles where it concerned the love of his life. Not that he would have it any other way.

"Lois."

She didn't stir and he decided not to press the matter any further. It would be easier this way, hopefully. And so he told himself one last touch, one little touch, would be harmless and last him another lifetime. Leaning closer to her, terribly aware of the way her nose crinkled slightly, Clent brought a single finger to her smooth cheek. It trembled through him, maddeningly and tortuously, a pain so sweet and acidic he couldn't think straight.

It was the only reason she got a good lick in.

"Lois!"

"Get back old man!"

There was enough sense left in him to increase the distance between them as much as possible before she tried to kill him with her bare hands. From across the room he watched her turn the lamp on and reach for her cell phone.

"You've made a big mistake, Clent." Her eyes watched him as she spoke into her phone. "Hello? My name is Lois Lane."

Clent dropped his shoulders and leaned against the wall, listening to her describe the intruder and the fact that he was not, in fact, attacking or threatening her. When she snapped the phone shut and glared at him, he didn't move. Instead, he waited for her to make up her mind which seemed like an endless eternity. It was one of those very rare mystical Lois things, her mind using the ample time to weigh all the options and look in every corner before taking the first step. He didn't know whether he was happy she was using caution or annoyed she didn't just make her decision in a barely seen second like she usually did when put under the wire.

"How'd you get in here?"

"The door. You really should have an alarm system. This _is_ Gotham."

"I have one."

"Then why wasn't it on?"

"It was."

"No it wasn't or it would've gone off when I got in. God Lois, do you even know the type of monsters out here that are just waiting to eat you alive?"

"Excuse me?" Lois stood, heat streaking her face. "You're the man who showed up out of the blue yapping about Smallville and then sneaked into my apartment at three in the morning!"

"That's different."

"Really? Because it sounds more like a potatoh-potahto thing."

"You can _trust_ me."

"No, I'm pretty sure I can't."

"Then why haven't you tried to tackle, kick, bite, or kill me?"

"You jumped away! And I called the police!"

His raised eyebrow spoke volumes.

"I don't even know you, Clent! How could I trust you?"

"Shhh."

"What?" Lois frowned. "Don't shush me."

"Lois," he growled, turning his head to the left and hearing the two officers complaining about checking on a possible break in.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Snapping his head back, Clent straightened himself. "Sounds like your heroes are on their way."

"Who?"

"Gotham's _finest_. I guess it's time for me to go."

He'd intended on leaving without looking back, making it easier on himself, but then he felt her hand grip the upper part of his arm. She always had to complicate his life.

"I need to go, Lois."

She didn't remove her hand and Clent closed his eyes as he heard her take a small step towards his back. His flesh burned hotly, drinking up the sensation and wanting to fling it off at the same instant. Complete opposites, him and her, always them. Always conflicting, her and him, everything around them.

"Lois," he whispered thickly. "Please?"

Something happened to her then. Standing there, her fingers nearly gripping his muscles under the trench coat, Lois felt herself suddenly overwhelmed by grief. It nearly engulfed the pads of her fingertips and shot up her nerve endings to bypass muscle and bone, ending directly at the center of her heart, liquid and tissue. In all her years, she'd experienced heartache enough to be a combat veteran, but this was different. This was…life sucked from her.

He turned obliquely, not sturdy enough to keep himself from damning this world's Clark Kent by claiming her as his. His ears welcomed her thrumming heartbeat, the swallow of confusion, a purse of her lips meeting. He saw her tired face and wished to the gods he could kiss her lips and taste the salt of her tears once more.

"Who are you?" she asked breathlessly, eyes desperately searching his.

Call him selfish. Call him wounded. Call him idiotic. Don't call him strong.

"Lo…I'm your –."

"Gotham Police! We got a call from this location!"

* * *

Lois whirled, her glance darting from the door to Clent and back again.

"Hide. Now."

"Where?"

"In there." She pointed to her room as she began walking towards the door. "And be quiet."

Confident Clent was hidden, Lois dropped her shoulders and figured the mess of her hair would only help her.

"Hey!" She eyed their badges. "Rogers and Wills. Sorry about that call. One too many tequila shots and a marathon horror movie fest don't mix well. Did you know the force it takes to shove a toothpick into your, uh, lovegums is equal to – ."

"Ah, Miss Lane," the one of the right raised a hand to stop her. "So, there isn't an intruder?"

"Oh. No." Lois smiled crookedly, playing ashamed. "Sorry."

The two men looked at each other and the left one shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, we'll be heading out. Be careful, and uh, stay away from toothpicks."

"Wise words," Lois muttered as she locked the door behind them and paused to take a breath.

Was she really doing this? Of course she was. It was almost as if she had no choice, her curiosity was so great. She ran across the carpet to her bedroom where Clent was sitting on the rustled bed.


	4. Oversized and overwhelmed, the shine

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

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"They're gone. You're welcome."

She nearly expected a smirk, a sigh of relief, maybe even for him to turn rogue and torture her, but he said absolutely nothing, even when she voiced his name. It was then that she realized he was looking at something between his fingers and her voice went dry as his finally surfaced.

"What's this?"

As he raised his hand slightly, the lamplight reflected off the object with a tiny sparkle and Lois froze, not sure why her stomach had plummeted beyond her bladder to her toes.

"Your eyesight that bad, old man?"

His eyes met hers and she could've sworn he looked amused and pained at the same moment. One corner of his mouth quirked up as he tried to say something, but then it folded into a tight line as he looked back down at the ring, flipping it with fingers trying too hard to be gentle.

"Bruce always had good taste."

"Yeah, in everything but women," Lois muttered with a half smile.

Clent's head jumped up to stare at her fidgeting hands. Before he was tempted to say anything more he placed the beckoning ring back on the bedside table with a careful touch. He stood and rubbed his hands roughly together before shaking his head and walking towards her disheveled figure. She looked lost, confused,. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and make her feel whole, make him feel the same. Because he couldn't, he cleared his throat.

"I, uh, wanted to tell you thanks for listening to me. I know it was…strange."

"Well," she shrugged as she took a step towards him. "I'm actually used to strange."

Trying to smile, Clent rolled his eyes. "I'm not surprised."

"What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Only good things."

"You say that like you know me."

'_If you only knew_,' he thought harshly. Gazing down at her was like breathing underwater. Pleasure and pain. Deadly but unavoidable. He missed her too much.

"It's time for me to go," he quickly said as he walked past her, his shoulder brushing hers and each found themselves flinching forcefully.

"Where are you going?"

"I only came here to find Clark."

"Wait! You found him?"

He didn't pause as he reached the door, the doorway his only way to escape his hellful heaven.

"I think so."

Cracking the door open he was surprised when it slammed shut and her body was suddenly shoved against it, the fabric of her clothes tasting his coat.

"How do you 'think'?"

"Lois, get out of the way."

"Not until you tell me what you know."

"It's best if you don't know."

"Why?"

"For your own safety."

Lois raised an eyebrow. "I'm not helpless."

"I'm not telling you."

"Who do you think you're talking to Mister Mysterious?"

Clent knew he had to change his tactic.

"Lo, you haven't seen Clark in four years. Who knows what he's gotten involved in."

"Oh, please. Smallville's a boy scout from Heaven. He's probably been shacked up with Miss Perfect adopting two legged puppies."

"What if he's not?"

"Look, I know Smallville better than anyone. Four years doesn't change that."

"Time changes a lot of things."

She couldn't argue with that but she sure as hell wasn't about to lose.

"Clent, he was my best friend. He was…we were…."

The way her lips stumbled broke him. He could read that pain clear as day and it angered him that her Clark had hurt her so, without knowing, without caring.

"If I tell you, you have to go back to bed."

"Okay."

Even though she agreed too quickly, he couldn't stop himself.

"I tracked him down to Washington near the coast."

"That's it?"

"There's more."

"Then keep going!"

Clent rolled his eyes. "I'm thinking he's got to be around Seattle. It's the biggest city around there."

She was silent, too silent, her teeth chewing on her bottom lip. It'd been two years but he knew that look better than anything.

"Lois," Clent warned. "Don't even think it."

"Think what?"

"You _know_ what. No."

"But Bruce's jet can get us there in – ."

"I distinctly remember you agreeing to go back to bed."

"I _will_ go back to bed…and call Bruce."

"Lois – ."

"I can't just stay here! What if Smallville needs me?"

"You just said he was adopting one legged poodles."

"Two legged puppies, and you said he might be in trouble!"

"_I_ can help him if he is. _You_ would just be a distraction!"

"Why?"

"Because," Clent frowned. "It's complicated."

"That's all you got? 'It's complicated.'"

"It's enough."

They stared at each other, neither moving an inch.

"Fine," Lois scowled. "But the second you find him, you call me."

Clent leaned his head back slightly, his eyes warily surveying her suddenly agreeable face.

"Really? That's it?"  
"As long as you call me."

Something was not right. Clent knew she had to be up to something and that was bad news for all parties involved.

"What's the catch?"

"No catch."

This time, he leaned into her, caught up in a game that had become theirs decades ago.

"What are you planning, Lane?"

"Nothing."

A beat. "You're going to follow me," he spoke monotonously.

"Huh, maybe you do know me."

"You can't."

"I can and there's _nothing_ you can do to stop me."

"Why can't you be like normal women?"

"Is that a yes? I'm taking it as a yes. I'm going to pack real quick and call Bruce." Lois turned around to leave but then faced him again with a finger pointed at his chest and a warning in her eyes. "Don't go anywhere."

He had to nod, not happily, but he nodded, refusing to watch her walk away. His jaw clenched together, not because Lois had won but because he would have to spend hours on a jet when he could easily get to Seattle flying himself.

Hearing the name 'Bruce,' Clent sighed. It was better he take her with him so he could keep an eye on her than leave her alone gallivanting across the country causing who knows what kind of hell.

* * *

She'd been unusually silent driving them to the hangar where Bruce's private jet was taking them to Seattle so Lois could see her sister. Clent wondered if this Bruce was intentionally dense or amazingly dubious.

Looking out the jet's window, Clent stared at the dark space around them and suddenly felt confined in a container too small to hold him. It was a feeling he'd experienced too much since the years Lois had died.

He turned on the chaise, linking his fingers together as he concentrated on the door Lois had disappeared behind for bed. He heard her mumble something before turning over. For a deep sleeper, she was intensely restless. She was always moving, thinking, talking, a current that refused to bide by nature's laws. That's what he first loved about her. And hated too.

Clent frowned at the wood. He hadn't realized until now how still his life had become. He was still Superman, that was true and would never change, but Clark Kent was less defined. The saves had consumed his time, lessening a painful reminder that cut his soul, but he would always come home to Metropolis to find her gone. He could never get far enough, fight enough, help enough to somehow get her back.

But here she was. Yards away, the same in nearly every way. He knew she felt it between them, a string tied to the other that kept tugging them together, but she wouldn't believe it.

She'd fight it, and it would hurt him, but he'd already been pushed into the bleakest pit of hurt. God, but she was _here_. It was wrong and he knew it. She wasn't his, never had been, but if her Clark hadn't loved her, why couldn't he?

He got up and walked to the door, his hand lightly on the knob, a nervous twitch in his cheek. He opened it, finding darkness but his eyes soon found her body lying in the center of the massive bed with an arm flung over her face.

_"I'm sleepy, Smallville."_

_"It's only __three thirty__."_

_"In the morning," Lois groaned._

_Clark smiled as he pulled her onto his lap, the grass around the edge of the blanket whispering as he laid her back on his stomach and raised his knees slightly so her feet dipped lightly into the air over his shins. Leaning back against the barn, his hands found hers._

_"Better?"_

_She snorted. "You're like a rock. But you're warm. When's this comet thing supposed to happen because it needs to hurry."_

_"Patience is a virtue, Lois."_

_"Patience is a pain in the ass."_

_"You have a lot in common then."_

_"I'm getting you back for that tomorrow."_

_Clark__ laughed lightly into her hair as he brought their hands together over her ribcage._

Clent carefully walked to the empty space beside the bed and lay down on the floor, something in him breathing a sigh of relief as he slid his glasses off and closed his eyes. He wouldn't have to dream tonight of her being with him.


	5. I've loved you since we were just there

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

Lois hesitated as she reached the door, sure that she was going to open it and find herself alone because her mind had been playing a trick on her. It would mean Clent had never come asking for her help and for some reason, she desperately wanted him to be real and still needing her. Which made no sense. She'd known the guy for barely one day. It just didn't happen, couldn't happen.

Then again, stranger things _had_ happened. She thought, but some of her memories were just dim lights in a shadow of gray, so maybe she was making the need to be with Clent something to do with her unresolved feelings for Clark. Lois rolled her eyes as the ludicrousness of it registered. There was absolutely nothing unresolved between her and Smallville. Unless she counted the half-finished article shoved into her desk on Metropolis's, then new, Subway's on fourth and Convoy. And now that she thought about it, she did count it.

She opened the door without any more thoughts and found the comfortable seats empty, the carpet bare, and a table free of objects. Her feet halted and her lips came together tightly. She hadn't dreamed it. She was sure of it, and so she began walking toward the cockpit.

And then the pilot's door opened with Clent appearing in front of her with a dark blue button up shirt over a white t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Except for the glasses slipping down his nose, he looked like a mirror image of the Clark that had left her.

"You're up," he smiled.

Lois, relieved but not about to show it, smiled wryly. "Up and alive are two different things. Are we close?"

"Yeah," he walked past her to open a cabinet door and pulled open the refrigerator. "Another twenty minutes. Here."

As he held up the small bottle of chocolate milk, she frowned.

"I'll buy you a cup of coffee when we land, Lois. This is just to tide you over."

"It better be a big cup of coffee."

Clent smiled as she took the little jug from him. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mmm," she made her way to sit down. "Yes. Did you?"

"Yeah," he replied softly as he crossed his arms over his chest.

They shared glances before turning their attentions to something less intimidating. Clent focused on the ring on her finger and Lois focused on his scuffed shoes.

"So, Clent. Have you thought about what you're going to say to Clark if you find him?"

"I figured a 'hello' would be a good way to start things."

Lois gave him a forced smile behind her milk jug.

"I think you should just be upfront about it. 'Clark, I'm your biological father. Nice to meet you.'"

"Classic Lane style."

"And as I've been saying since I met you, how would you know?"

"It's not hard to figure out you're not fond of tippy-toeing around."

Tapping a finger against her milk, she felt the edge of her lip inside her mouth as her teeth bit down.

"Clent, ah, do you uh, have any other kids? Or a wife, or something?"

"Well, last week makes twelve kids. And wives, yeah, I guess you could call them that." He watched her eyes widen as she fought gut and brain. He laughed, deep and free. "Lois, you're not gullible, are you?"

"How was I supposed to know? You're a ghost of the system who materialized out of thin air. You could be some masochistic killer on a secret rampage."

"And yet you're helping me?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It'd make for a hell of a story."

"If you lived, that is."

"Oh, I would." She held out her empty jug for him and he took it from her with a frown.

"I don't know how I feel about that."

"About me living?"

"Lois."

"You _should_ feel happy that I graciously decided to help you."

Leaning back against the cabinet, Clent looked at her carefully, marking every detail that he knew would be there in years to come. She'd made a fuss when she turned thirty.

_"What's so great about turning thirty?"_

_He immediately knew where this was going to go and so he stood behind her, his hands loosely on curvy hips covered in soft flannel. She rolled her eyes but didn't push him away._

_"I was wondering when you were going to say something."_

_"Really??"_

_"You've been smiling and laughing all day, but your pitch always drifted high and low."_

_"Stupid powers."_

_Clark__ chuckled, burying his face into the crook of her neck and inhaling the soft scent of her skin after a long shower._

_"Do I get my present now, Superman?"_

_His nose dipped on her skin eliciting a quick intake of breath from her._

_"Greedy little thing aren't you?"_

_"When this is all the time I get with you, yes."_

"Thank you, Lo."

His voice crawled up her spine, settling in her spinal cord and warming her body for no known reason. It was as if he was the only person who'd said those words and meant them, absolutely and incredibly.

"My wife died two years ago. We never had kids."

She felt like an idiot for bringing it up, for needing to know. His words were arthritic, joined and hard, almost as if they'd rotted from disuse or maybe even too much use. She took a breath.

"I'm sorry."

He seemed to absolutely melt at her words, his shoulders sagging for an instant like his heart was broken in front of her.

"Don't be."

The way his face softened she felt again like she was missing something, a secret underlying message for her. It was so easy with him and it shouldn't have been.

"So," Lois cleared her throat. "Old man, what's your plan for when we land?"

"Well, you can rent a car and a hotel for us, and I'll go around trying to see what I can find out."

"Wait a minute. You want _me_ to do the girl stuff while you do the real work? I don't think so."

"Lois, it's safer this way."

"Two heads are better than one, old man."

One invulnerable head was better than an added one which could be obliterated.

"We'll cover more ground with you in the city and me in the country. I'll be able to move faster without you."

"I'm not stupid. I can keep up. So, where's our first stop?"

"You're not getting dragged around with me." She opened her mouth but he rushed through. "If I have to I'll call Bruce and tell him what you're up to."

"You. Wouldn't."

"To protect you, I would."

There were no lies in those blue eyes and Lois could feel the stifled anger beginning to boil. He really expected her let him do all the detective work when she was obviously better in that department, and to top it all off, he was threatening to tattle-tale on her.

"I'm the reporter. I know how to dig. You're just a big hugger."

"I'll make it. So, what's it going to be?"

Damn if she wasn't about to slap that smirk off his face.

* * *

"'If I have to I'll call Bruce,'" Lois mimicked under her breath as she walked out of rental car service with a shiny pair of keys in her hands and made her way over to the nondescript black jeep. Once she'd buckled her seatbelt, her phone began to ring and she immediately knew Clent had gone back on his word. That man was going to need Depends when she was through with him.

"Hey, Bruce."

"Afternoon, I mean, good morning. How's it going?"

Considering his tone, Lois guessed Clent hadn't told on her. Too bad.

"I haven't had my coffee yet."

"Ha. Lois Lane without her morning coffee. I'm scared and I'm three thousand miles away. Poor Lucy."

"Ah," she started the engine. "Yeah, she'll probably just pour the grounds in my mouth once I tell her."

"What's that sound?"

"Um, the engine."

"That's not a Porsche."

"No, it's a plain old jeep."

"I thought I'd arranged for a car to pick you up."

"You did. I just figured something less flashy would draw less attention. Heaven knows this ring already dazzles people."

"Just be careful. It's a dangerous place."

"You say that about every city, Bruce."

"And you never believe me."

"I believe you."

"Which is why you always get caught up in something?"

"Is this really the time for one of your safety lectures?"

He sighed on the other end and she hoped he would see how old it was becoming. She loved him, but he held on too tight sometimes.

"No, have fun with your sister. Tell her hi for me."

"I will. She'll probably swoon, though."

"Maybe you should throw in a kiss."

"Uh, no. You aren't kissing my sister through me, Wayne."

"Territorial?"

The answer should have been a 'hell, yes,' but there was a voice situated in the back of her mind that suddenly found strength. A doubt she hadn't felt since he'd asked her to marry him surfaced, making her pause before she replied.

"Over you? Please."

Chuckling, she heard him cover the end of phone for a few seconds before coming back to her.

"I've got to meet Lucius. You'll call me later?"

"Absolutely. Bye."

"Bye."


	6. I can see the fear in those eyes

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

After spending two hours at the local library in the dungeon of microfiche, Lois had decided she was wasting her time in the city. Clark Kent wouldn't live here; he'd live out there. Four years couldn't have changed the natural longing of home, and so she drove beyond the city limits under the gray skies, the jeep beating against the rocks in the dirt road.

An hour later the people she found along the way had never seen Clark or Lana, but Lois wasn't deterred. If Clent had tracked the duo down to here, then they were somewhere to be found. A smirk settled on her lips as she sat straighter in her seat. The old man had seemed determined she do nothing, but wouldn't she love the look on his face when she showed up with Smallville? Yes, Lois pressed her foot harder on the gas. She sure as hell would.

* * *

He nearly missed it – a black shadow that streaked across the deep green sea of grass. Clent immediately turned himself around to follow it, his heart beating twice the normal sound as he realized whoever was running, was too slow. Even when he'd first been testing his powers he'd been faster, lighter, more limber. He slowed from his position in the sky as the shadow did, imperceptible to human eyes as it entered a small white house.

Clent heard the opening of a refrigerator door, the gentle hum as it ran before the door shut. Next he heard a cup meeting a table made of oak, liquid pouring that sounded heavier than water but lighter than milk. A gulp invaded his ears as the drink entered the shadow's mouth and Clent tensed as his vision noticed the curves of the still body, the arch of her neck, the features of her face as she turned to walk outside.

A woman he'd just seen a week ago was standing with a simple cup in her hand as she gazed at the ocean in front of her house. Before he knew it, she threw the cup back into the house and followed it with her speeding body, catching the object before it collapsed into the sink. Clent lowered himself to the ground, a stern set of his mouth announcing his disapproval at the abomination which had occurred in this world.

"Lana Lang," he spoke quietly into the wind of a coming storm.

* * *

An intake of breath, a flash of teeth, and then she was running towards him, slow to him, rapid to anyone else. She hesitated when she saw him frown, but didn't stop, her world still trying to be part of his and her eyes seeing Clark Kent and not Superman. Her body tripped to a stop as soon as she was beyond the door, the grass eating her shoes of the black suit she wore, the charcoal in the thick clouds making her look paler than she was.

"Clark?" she whispered as her eyes roved over every changed feature. "What happened to you?"

"What have you done, Lana?" Clent shook his head. "What have _I_ done?"

Her foot wanted to take a step forward but his hand in the air stopped her almost as forcefully as if he'd slammed her into the wall. She was speechless, shocked, afraid of the man who was watching her.

"You have powers?"

"Clark, you know I do. What's wrong? What happened?"

"I'm not your Clark. I've come to fix what you and Clark messed up."

"What are you talking about?"

"You aren't supposed to have powers, Lana. You aren't supposed to be with Clark. You aren't supposed to be," he circled the area around them with his hands, "here. None of this is right."

"You're not making any sense. Who did this to you?"

"I'm from another world, a parallel universe nearly twenty-five years from now. I've lived my life and it didn't turn out this way."

"You…you're from another universe? From the future?"

"Yes," Clent gravely took a step towards her, feeling the storm inches away from them, the rain hanging in the clouds just waiting to be released on their heads. "I'm," he trailed off, suddenly remembering his cover story with Lois and he cringed slightly. Lois would never forgive him for lying to her like this. But maybe she would Clark.

"I'm Clark Kent. Where's yours?"

"I," she blinked. "I don't know."

"Why don't you know? You live with him. You fight with him."

Lana looked away from him, her eyes finding the crest of a rising wave that was running towards the shore with abandon.

"I haven't seen him in three months. I needed, um, some space to think some things through."

The first drops of rain started, cool and light, landing on them in near circles until the rain became so heavy the circles were turning into parallel lines. They stared at each other, unmoving and stoic, waiting to catch something that had broken.

* * *

Lois stared at the jeep's rear tires, the mud halfway over the rims and splattering the body dirty. Her frown deepened as she looked up at the sky turning dark, the clouds drawing down and settling overhead in a blotted painting.

"Good for nothing jeep."

She slid her bag over her shoulder and started walking down the soft path built by smooth stones and fallen grass. Her left boot sagged in a shallow pit, the suction turning her sideways along with a groan at her poor choice of footwear. Once her foot was rescued, she stuffed her hands into her black windbreaker as a gust of wind bellowed across the trees and shook leaves down around her.

When it lessened, the roar of an engine hummed in her ears and she threw a hand above her eyes so she could see without tears forming in her vision. It'd seen better days, the gray paint peeled enough to show metal underneath, the grill was large and bulky, the windshield screamed with a crack stretching across its thick body.

Lois waved a lone hand in the air, the tips of her fingers tingling as a flash of lightning seared over the truck. She saw the outline of a dog in the passenger seat before she heard the bark as the head leaned out of the window. Her arm froze, the sleeve of the jacket slightly exposing her wrist as another storm of wind barreled against her. Her hair caught in front of her face, slapping her cheek and strangling her neck before her catatonic arm found its heartbeat and frantically tried to free herself.

The truck stopped thirty feet in front her, a slight squeal of the breaks signaling its finished advance towards her. Lois knew she was breathing too fast, too deep, too much. Hair quit its attack against her features and she combed the strands away from her face, her eyes searching through the tangles until she found him. Clark.

* * *

Her mind had prepared for this, the moment where she found Smallville. Thrust in the actual scene, Lois couldn't move and couldn't define which emotion felt the most real. She was relieved he was alive, scared that he didn't want to see her, worried that he was different, and angry that it had come to this.

His door opened, loudly and unwillingly in anyone else's feeble hand. His gaze never left hers, the frown cemented in his forehead as he took a few tentative steps toward her. His long sleeved black shirt blew against his body with the wind, his jeans slightly disgruntled with dirt and black marks that melted onto his boots.

"Lois!?"

If it weren't for the wind currents carrying his words to her, she doubted she would've heard him. She was busy trying to note the changes but found none. He looked the same as the night she'd left, no worse for wear and she marched forward then, the changeling of her emotions finally settling on one to cling to.

Four years had given her ample time to perfect the mask of her face, and so when she reached him she wasn't surprised a half smile had nearly taken his mouth hostage.

"What are you – ."

The only reason she didn't punch him was because she knew how steely he was, and so she slapped him, palm wide, fingers flared.

* * *

"You pick up and leave and say goodbye to everyone in a _note_!? A _note_!"

A left finger pointed in his chest with every syllable, an eyebrow rose higher with every word, and her voice knocked an octave higher along with the enemy wind. She couldn't help it. She was furious with him, and so was the rain that pelted down on their meeting without so much a greeting.

"And then you never called! Chloe was worried sick over you! Your mother! My God, Clark, your own mother didn't know where you were! You didn't," her voice cracked along with the thunder. "We buried her without you! How could you do that to her!?"

"Lois, I didn't – !"

"What!?"

She stuck her chin out and waited, always she was waiting on him and she knew what was next. She knew an excuse, as lame as paint drying would come from him and where before she would just accept it as something Clarkish, she wouldn't do it now.

The rain hurt her skin but she stood still, along with him, solid as statues. His mouth tightened and a sigh lowered his body with dropped shoulders. It hit her then, that this was Clark, Smallville, and he was not the man who had left her behind four years ago. She didn't know who this was, and he sure as hell didn't know her.

Clark reached forward, wanting to give his grievance, but she stepped back with purposefulness and his hand dropped down to his thigh.

"What are you doing here, Lois!?"

What _was_ she doing here? God, she shouldn't be here. She couldn't care less about Clark Kent and suddenly the need to find him didn't make sense and her presence here was disastrous.

"I have someone who wants to meet you!"

He tensed. "Who!?"

"A friend of mine! He just needs to talk to you!"

"How did you find me!?"

"You have to ask him!"

It didn't sound good. He wondered if it could be a trap, somehow using Lois as bait.

"Lois, you shouldn't be here!"

"News flash, Clark! I don't want to be here! I would rather be anywhere _but_ here! But unlike you, when a friend needs me, I don't bolt! I don't just leave without a goodbye! I don't let people I care about think I'm dead! I don't treat my friends like they meant nothing! And I certainly don't skip out on my mother's funeral because I'm playing house with the perfect girl!"

Her voice went hoarse, and by then it looked as if she'd kicked him where it hurt most and she was glad. She was so glad the words were out and that he appeared guilty. Because he was. The tears weren't tears, just tired rain that dribbled down her forehead into the corners of her strained eyes in memoriam of the tears she'd already shed years ago. She was finished. Very finished.


	7. We'll take this wrong and make it right

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

Uncomfortable silences always did her in.

Lois shifted closer to the passenger door to increase the space between her and Shelby. Shelby had other ideas as he laid his head in her lap before she sneezed.

"Shelby's still kicking I see." _Not Clarkie, not something good from the past._

"Slower these days."

Another silence and she squinted at the windshield being mauled by a pool of water.

Clark didn't know what else to say. He didn't know what he was doing, giving her a ride back to his place when he should've wanted her as far away as possible and she _did_ want him on another planet. His eyes hadn't believed themselves when she was standing in the road, and even when he got out he was sure he was imagining her. When she became real and started towards him he couldn't help but feel like he was in Smallville again, somewhere near the barn and her nagging him about something important in the world of Lois Lane. It had been nice.

Then she'd slapped some sense into him, added guilt to his already broken heart, and everything was too real, too shaped. Now, all the questions were stuck in his throat, tangible and taut.

* * *

The truck began to slow and Lois straightened in her seat, squinting her eyes to make out the shapes through the blurry window.

"You live _here_?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, if you like outhouses and reading by candlelight."

"I have a bathroom and electricity."

"Do they work?"

Idling the ignition, Clark tapped the steering wheel.

"Maybe I should let you stay here while I go take a look at your jeep."

"You're not leaving me alone on the homestead, Clark. Besides, what can you do in this weather?"

Apparently, time didn't always change everything. He should've been more upset at himself, at her, but he wasn't. Killing the truck, he took a deep breath and patted his leg as Shelby moved over to his side.

"Fine, we'll stay here till it clears and you can tell me what's going on."

"Fine, and you can tell me what it feels like being a prick."

Without sticking around to see his expression, Lois jumped out of the truck and ran in the soggy grass to the makeshift hanging over the door to the quaint white house. She opened the door with Clark behind her, Shelby's bark in the air, and a heavy feeling surrounding her as two sets of eyes looked back at her.

"Lois?!"

"Lois?!"

* * *

"Clent?"

"Lana?"

"Clark?"

"Clark."

"Woof."

* * *

Clark froze behind Lois as Clent took a step forward, his gaze centered on the drenched brunette reporter.

"Lois, what are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm doing what I said I would. You're obviously not."

"I told you two heads were better than one. Now, how – ."

Clark interrupted. "Who are you?"

They all heard the strain in his voice, the way it tore from his cords and fleshed itself out with confusion and clear denial as he stared at the older, yet splitting, image of himself.

Lois looked at Clent a second longer before placing a hand on Clark's arm. He looked down at her, obviously wary.

"This is my friend, Clark."

"I think," Clent watched her drop her hand swiftly as he spoke. "We should talk by ourselves, Clark."

Shaking his head faintly, Clark replied, "I asked who you were."

"My name's Clent."

"How'd you find me? Did someone send you?"

"No. Trust me, Clark. We need some privacy."

Clark blinked. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Because Lois does."

Clark's gaze immediately found Lois and she nodded her head, the resoluteness of it affirming the truth of Clent's statement. Even after four years he knew better than to doubt her.

"Fine."

"Lois," Clent tilted his head. "You mind staying here for a little while?"

"You'll…be okay?"

Not aimed for Clark who nodded his head, but for Clent, his eyes softening behind his black rimmed glasses and giving her his answer. It was all she needed before she followed Lana into the one bedroom of the house.

* * *

"Outside, Clark."

"Why?"

Clent took his glasses off and dropped them into the pocket of the blue windbreaker he'd picked up that morning. He was acutely aware of the two women feet away and deadly conscious of the one whose heartbeat was speeding in worried anxiousness.

In a low whisper, barely more than exhaled bite of lost air, Clent's words traveled directly to a waiting Clark.

"Look in my chest."

The order confused Clark who barely believed his ears, but he did it, drawn by curiosity and fear. The lines were sharp, crisp, defined to a point that nearly hurt. The 'S' was clear, loud, housed in the diamond outline. Clark's head shot up.

"Outside."

* * *

Light burned across the sky and water of the Pacific Ocean roared in cries of anguish. Rain pounded the ground, burning exposed skin and forming curtains around the two figures in a stand off. Clark's hands fisted at his sides, short nails wanting to tatter impenetrable skin. Clent stood with feet apart, hands loosely falling and not pulling back the gray-black hair that teased his eyelashes with the heavy weight of water.

The younger man broke the vocal silence.

"It's not possible."

"It is. And I'm here now."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I woke up at the farm and everything was changed."

"Just like that?"

"Exactly like that. I don't know what brought me to your time Clark, but I _can_ guess." He narrowed his eyes. "This isn't where you're supposed to be. You should be in Metropolis as a hero."

"How do you know this isn't where I'm meant to be? Our worlds are different to begin with."

"I know because a world without you is a world with little hope and no faith. Not embracing your destiny is throwing away innocent lives only you can save. Don't you see that your part is bigger than anything else? You're Superman, the hero who stands for truth, justice, the American way."

An anger was surfacing in Clent as he stared at the stubborn boy-man in front of him. It was simple, easy, decided. Why could only Clark not see it?

"You've wasted four years! For what? What was more important than the world?"

"I didn't choose between the world and Lana! We were a team _for_ the world!"

"It's not her destiny! It _is_ yours!"

"All I've ever heard was my destiny was so great! And I sacrificed everything because of it! When Lana got her powers I didn't have to choose anymore! I could be happy _and_ help the world!"

"Where's that choice gotten you? A house in the middle of nowhere! A woman who leaves you! A city that catches glimpses of a black blur!"

Somewhere, maybe so deep it'd been covered by a pool of ash after the last fires, Clent believed Clark knew his life was skewed in the wrong direction. By the way his eyes looked in the glare of another lightning strike, he had no doubt he was right. He'd hit a nerve, a sensitive one, and he wasn't sorry.

"This isn't who you are, Clark. All this," he tasted rain as he waved to the house. "It's holding you back."

The rain quieted suddenly, turning into a pest of water droplets splattered softly over the dirt. Clark could clearly make out the man before him even as the black sky swallowed everything it touched. And this was too much for the failed hero, catching a future world that crumbled all the dreams he'd hoped he could have.

"Just because you're me, doesn't mean you know me."

He ran.

Clent let him. He stood there for the longest hour, listening as his younger self fled across the coast, the rain picking up with deadly force again.


	8. Make your plans, make them all in stride

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

Lois sprang off the sofa the second Clent walked through the door.

"You okay?"

He would've said no, but the moment he looked at her in the gray sweatpants and an oversized blue faded t-shirt, he only felt tired. Taking his glasses out of the soaked windbreaker, Clent shrugged his broad shoulders.

"What are you wearing?"

"Lana gave me some of Clark's dry clothes. How'd it go? What'd he say? Where is he?"

"I don't think…he cares for my presence."

"Well," Lois stepped closer to him and reached for the rain dripped pair of glasses to dry it with her shirt. "It's a shock, but he'll come around."

She handed it back, her fingers meeting his even though he could've grabbed it from the other side of the frame. They nearly tickled her skin, roughened pads over her warm flesh. When she drew back she tried not to focus on the way his body leaned closer to hers and how hers wanted to lean into his to an equal degree.

He was old enough to be her father. Hell, he _was_ Clark's father. And she was engaged. With a quick shake of her head, Lois walked back to the sofa and picked up a set of folded clothes she'd chosen for him.

"You're soaking wet. Can't be too careful at your age."

Clent smiled. "I'm not that old."

"Whatever you say, Noah. Here."

"I'll change at the hotel."

"Oh, well see," she ignored his premature exasperated look. "The jeep got stuck and that's when Clark picked me up. So, we're stuck…here for now."

"How far back?"

Lois frowned. "A mile, maybe two."

"I'll be back. Wait here."

"Hey! It's pitch black out there and the storm of the century's still raging on."

"Worried about this old man?"

"No. But when Clark _does_ come back around and finds out I let his father walk in a storm to attempt to get a jeep out of the mud, the heavens will smite me for ruining his perfect life."

"His life isn't perfect."

"Could've fooled me. Though I don't even really care. I mean, it's not like we're still friends after all this time."

Clent sighed softly, almost feeling like he'd wronged more than he'd hoped to right. He couldn't bring himself to remind her that her fight for claiming the friendship with Clark was what brought her here. He held out a hand for the clothes and when she smiled, rolled his eyes.

_"Come and get 'em."_

_Clark__ widened his grin as he slowly approached her, watching her subtle movements as she tried to outsmart him._

_"You're going to lose, Lois."_

_"Am I?" she teased, waving the glasses in the air above her head with one hand and unbuttoning her blouse with the other._

_His mouth went dry as she slid her blue shirt off with a mischievous shake of her shoulders and then gained his attention to her face when she placed his glasses on the bridge of her nose, the black frames large for her face._

_"You alright, Smallville? Do I need to call for Superman?"_

_The smirk on her face drew him over the edge and he rushed forward, cradling her head and back with his hands as they met the wall and cracked the paint. Her breath met his chest and he smiled at her stunned reaction before leaning down to kiss her even more senseless._

"You're spending the night here, Lane."

"What about you?"

"I'm probably not welcome."

"What's Clark going to do? Make you sleep in the rain?"

"Might make me share a bed with you."

Biting back a smile so hard she could taste blood, Lois turned away from him.

"Pervert. Now, go change."

* * *

Under a sky clear of storm clouds that had waged war six hours ago in a different state, Clark ran a hand over grass that attempted to eat the jeans off his sitting form.

He wanted to think of anything but Clent and his words, yet all he could hear were sentences that hit too close to home. He'd spent four years with Lana, building a life he thought he wanted and could have, but it was anything but the dream he'd envisioned when he left Smallville.

Tearing a blade of grass apart from its root, he twirled it between his fingers, watching the gentle green blur it became as it twisted. His future self was here, but was he in fact the same Clark Kent? If he was from a different world, wouldn't things be different? It didn't mean the life he'd chosen to lead was wrong. For all he knew, Clent's life was the wrong one.

The blade fell, limp and shallow to its bed of brothers still living. He didn't want to believe Clent, not at all, but he couldn't help the nagging in the back of his head that thought he was right. Somewhere along the way, he'd stepped away from the greatness of destiny to settle for mediocrity, to hope for love. Four years was a long time. It changed too many things.

* * *

A yell came to him, a man shouting for his son to wake up, shouting for help. Clark was there before he consciously realized he had moved from his green solitude, a black blur of unresolved tension. He saw the overturned white car, dirt riding its edges and a tree clinging to the passenger side. Using his x-ray vision he found the boy slumped in his seat, the seatbelt nearly choking him and his body confined to the crushed dashboard and crammed door. The father desperately tried to reach for his son, but the broken dash prevented him from doing so, leaving him only able to yell and scream for someone to save them.

He slid down the steep ditch, his fingers tapping the totaled car's trunk as he ran to the boy, the tree refusing to allow him direct access. Seeing the blood dripping from the boy's head and mouth, Clark gripped the hood of the car and peeled it back, the metal squeaking and tearing in vain resistance.

"My son! He's there!"

Clark found the father's pleading eyes. "I'm going to get him out."

There were so many things he shouldn't do in a situation like this. Too many things could go wrong with such a small boy and so many injuries. Clark knew he was the only hope, and so he held the boy's head back as he ripped the seatbelt from the kid. Next, he pushed the dashboard forward, freeing obviously broken legs that looked weak and meager. Cradling the boy in his arms, Clark listened for the faint heartbeat he'd been pacing himself to. Light, a murmur, but there, still clinging to life that wasn't cut short.

"Sir, I've got your son."

"Danny! You've got him!?"

"He's still alive but I've got to get him to a hospital now."

"It's too far!" the man cried, his hands slamming against the steering wheel as he tried to turn.

Blurring to the other side, Clark held up a firm hand.

"You need to stay calm. I'll be right back. Trust me."

Whether or not the man did or didn't, Clark didn't know because he was gone already, carrying something more precious than his own life.

* * *

Clent watched Lana sitting on the damp sandy beach, the light gray clouds hugging the water, the trees, the dirt, but not her. She was a black mass refusing to let go, holding still until something greater moved her. She'd been gone since Clark had left, probably searching for him. It was what she did. He couldn't fault her for that, or for loving Clark.

"She's prettier than I remember."

He turned his head as Lois walked up beside him, her hair falling effortlessly around her shoulders, soft and silky, strong in his fingers if he would touch the strands.

"Is she?"

"I'd forgotten." She threw a look his way. "No wonder Clark ran off with her."

"There's probably more to the story than that, Lois."

"No offense, even though you don't even know him as your son, but when it comes to Clark's Lana, there never is."

_'Coming from a woman burned_,' he thought with a tug of his heart.

"People change, Lo. They grow in different directions, apart, together, alone."

"I guess. Look, you might as well thank her for getting a guy to get the jeep out so we didn't end up sleeping out here."

"I'm not the one who got it stuck to begin with!"

"But if you hadn't tried to stick me with waiting, I wouldn't have taken that side road that got me stuck."

"How can you make everything my fault?"

"Because it is. Deal with it."

* * *

Clent was halfway to her when they both heard the tell-tale rush of Clark. Lana jumped up with a glance to Clark who nodded his head as she ran towards the line of trees opening to the forest.

"Clark?"

He turned from a tree to face her, looking at her with an unsmiling face and a frown bringing his eyebrows together. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he searched her face, trying to notice anything different from the last time he'd seen her three months ago.

"Where'd you go?"

Lana took one step forward, gauging his reaction.

"Bolivia, Madagascar, New Zealand."

A whisper went through his mind, reminding him that the last two times she'd left she hadn't gone so far away, or been gone so long.

"Have a good time?"

"Clark," she took a deep breath and finally walked up to him, her smile falling too short to be real. "You've just found out a future world you is a hundred feet away and you're asking me about my time away?"

Running a hand through his hair, he shook his head and turned his body, kicking at a rock lodged in the earth and knocking it free. Her hand ran across his back and he froze, relishing the motion and wishing he could trust her like he used to. He'd given _it_ up for her and she didn't realize it, neither had he.

"It's okay, Clark. I'm here."

The thing was, he couldn't push her hand away from his. When her fingers found his and intertwined with them, he wanted to tell her he didn't know where they stood. He had enough to focus on without her. He couldn't.

"Are you staying?"

Their hands met his chin by her force.

"Yes."


	9. Pull me out from inside

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

She didn't know what she felt as Clark and Lana walked forward, hand in hand, the trees at their backs and the clear land before them. They were all suddenly stuck back in Smallville and she was the outsider looking in, never quite fitting but never minding either. It bothered her now.

"The happy couple in person," she muttered.

"Lois," Clent placed a careful hand softly on her arm, halting any more remarks from her open lips. With a gentle move he walked them a few paces away and quickly let her go, the contact still surreal. "Can you leave us alone for a bit?"

"You're kicking me out after I helped you get here?"

"I'm not kicking you anywhere. It's just, Clark and I didn't talk much before."

"And you don't want me around because?"

"Because you can't look at him without saying something smart."

"What are you trying to _say_, Clent?"

He did _not_ want to get into this, now, with her.

"There's a lot we need to say, Lois. And to be honest, there are some things I don't want you to hear."

* * *

"You shouldn't have brought Lois." Clark sighed.

"You really think I had a choice?"

"Why did you even find her?"

There was an answer he knew she shouldn't voice, a reason that centered on her being the permanent fixture in his life, but he settled for an answer that resembled the next best thing.

"In my world, Lois is my bestfriend. She's the first one I go to for anything."

Clark had to smile at that, showing a hint of teeth as he shook his head.

"Lois? Lois Lane? Wait, you didn't tell her about…."

"About being intergalactic travelers? No."

"That's," Clark nodded his head slightly. "Good. I don't know how she'd handle it."

Clent's shoulders rose in defense, but considering how stunted this world was, he shrugged it off.

"Maybe you ran away too soon to see how great she is."

"I didn't run away."

"Then what'd you do?"

"We knew once Lex found out Lana had the suit he'd never quit until he found us. Everyone we knew would be in danger and it wasn't fair to them. We left to protect them."

He wanted to hear the whole story behind this 'suit' but knew better to ask when they were truly alone and had more time on their hands. Clent fingered the left side of the frame of his glasses.

"So you end up here?"

"What's wrong with here?"

How many times was Clent going to be forced to say this?

"You're not supposed to be here for one thing."

"In your world! My world is different."

"Do you think your world is a better place with a blur that secretly saves people?"

"Yes, I do. This is the best - ."

"No, it's not!" Clent turned away, a hand in a gray streak at his temple. "You're hiding yourself, depriving the world of a hero it needs, forcing others of aliens to remain afraid of their true selves. It's surrounding us, Clark. We're the first alien to be trusted, welcomed, loved. Those who follow after us have us to thank for. That's your role in this, and so far, you've failed."

The words stung, poking his skin and withering his previous self-pride into nothing but an abandoned pit. He'd thought he was doing better, accepting his responsibilities and guarding Washington as best he could. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't listen, and in fact, never had before. But he couldn't ignore himself, alive and in the flesh, telling him what a mistake he'd concocted.

"And that's why you think you're here?"

Clent swallowed before facing Clark, his voice hoarser than before.

"Maybe. I don't know why I'm here. I don't know how I got here. I don't know how to get back." _Or if I want to._

Clark crossed his arms over his black shirt.

"Do you want my help?"

Mimicking the younger man's actions, Clent folded his arms. No, he wanted to stay here, somewhere close to Lois.

"Do you want mine?"

One second, two, three seconds, four.

"Sure," Clark shrugged. "Your turn."

"Later. Later, you'll help me. First, I'm going to make sure you fill out the tights."

A smile he couldn't help swam over his lips as Clark frowned deeply, but before he could ask a question, Clent continued.

"It'll be father-son bonding as far as Lois is concerned."

"Father-son?"

"I needed her help. She needed a story." He tilted his head. "But the truth would be better now."

"Clent," Clark looked to the house where the two women of their lives were waiting for them. "Lois can't know. She…she just can't."

It was a mistake, one Clent could feel to his tired core, but this wasn't his secret to share with Clark's Lois.

"I won't lie to her forever, Clark. Remember that."

* * *

The red stoplight reflected off the lens of his glasses, two blaring circles that seemed to attract his rapt attention outside of the jeep, hanging onto wires and swaying with the western wind. Lois slid her finger down the seatbelt over her chest, trying not to corner him with her questions because for the past hour of the drive he'd been as tense as a tightened coil in a jack-in-the-box. She looked ahead, the light still on its stationary halt warning, the buildings from the inner city lit up with bright white and yellow lights like torn beacons in an ocean of destruction.

It should've made her antsy, the silence between her and a man she'd known for two days, but it didn't. As tense as he was, there was an underlying calmness that came first, reaching out to her and asking for permission to hold onto what she could give. The fact that it was Clark's father made her somewhat uneasy, but not enough to refuse a comfort shed hadn't felt in a long time.

_For a second he was tongue tied, literally at a loss for words as he stared at her and she stared back. Five years for her, ten for him, and they couldn't speak. What had she done with her hair?_

_"A speechless __Lois Lane__. I could get used to this."_

_Another second and she straightened her back, swinging her coffee slightly in the air._

_"Your shirt caught me off guard, Smallville. The last time I saw you after graduation you wore plaid, and now, well, yeah."_

_"What's wrong with it? It's a nice shirt."_

_"Nothing. Brawny the lumberjack would be proud."_

_"Lane! Twenty seconds! What're you on my ass for now!?"_

_"Perry! There's a hero in Metropolis and -."_

_"Really? I didn't know what with every channel showing his latest rescue and the other papers trying to snap a picture of him."_

_"But they don't have an interview with the Superman."_

_"And you do?"_

_"Well," Lois shifted on her feet. "Not yet, but – ."_

_"Save it! And Lane, meet your new partner, Kent."_

_Clark dropped his shoulders and offered her a smile, probably his last._

Clent slowly accelerated as they were freed, a sudden memory causing him to look over at his passenger who had surprised him by not bombarding him with never ending questions. He felt guilty, knowing a string of lies would be held by him, a man who'd promised honesty to her years ago.

"You hungry?"

She didn't look at him when she answered. "Starving."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Anywhere that serves a cup of jo. You owe me, remember?"

Turning left on the street toward their hotel, he smiled, grateful for her need of caffeine since it would mean more alone time.

"I do. I do owe you."

* * *

"Okay." He spread his hands on the table, his hamburger untouched and glass of water more than halfway gone even though room service had left only a minute before. "Ask me."

She sat her coffee down and cupped the sides with her fingers as she leaned forward, trying not to note the way the hotel lamps shadowed the lines of his face.

"What happened this time?"

"He listened to me."

Lois's index fingers tapped the sides of her cup once.

"And?"

"He doesn't know what to do about this. I can't blame him, but I'm not giving up so easily."

"Why?"

"He's," Clent nearly said '_me_,' but recovered, "my son."

"You don't even know him."

"I need to. I want to, so I can help him."

"What does he need help with?"

"What we all need help with. Ourselves."

"Well, I don't need any help."

Clent smiled, a gentle shake of his head meeting his cupped palm as he leaned his elbow on the table. With that barely raised eyebrow and slightly pouted lower lip, he nearly forgot Clark wasn't Superman, that Metropolis was dying, that he was where he shouldn't be.

"Lois, can I ask you a question?"

"Considering I've been asking you everything under the sun, go ahead."

"Uh, I guess I just want to know, what makes someone like you go on a wild goose chase for a man you haven't seen in four years?"

She flinched. It was surprising and it hurt, and she flinched before diverting her gaze to the tablecloth and her cup.

"Ah, well," she cleared her throat. "I suppose that's a reasonable question to ask."

Watching her struggle made his reporter instincts assume possibilities with no facts, but first and foremost, his husband instincts ripped forward and before he could stop himself, he reached for hand. At the last moment he dropped his hand to the table with a slight brush against her pinky.

"Sorry." He stood briskly and the chair slid backwards loudly while he escaped the room.


	10. That I promised I'd never sing of love

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

The knock on the adjoining door surprised her for reasons she didn't expect. Lois slid her brush back onto the counter and walked towards the door, the bottom of her dark blue pajamas whispering across the carpet as her heart began to race in her ears. It was ridiculous to feel this way – like a girl around her first crush, unsure and sickly nervous.

"Hope you're not here in hopes of seducing me, old man. I'm not sure your ticker could take it."

A bead of water fell from his newly washed hairline near his ear and slid down to his neck. She swallowed as she leaned on the open door.

"You might want to be careful, Miss Lane. That sounded like a challenge."

He placed a hand on the doorway, softly letting it bear a fraction of his weight as he looked down at the woman who suddenly didn't seem so confident. His ego received a stroke and he couldn't help but smile as he reveled in the fact that he still had this effect on her.

"No comment, Lois?"  
"Oh, please. I was just shocked you made it out of the shower without falling and breaking a hip."

"Did you want to see me naked?"

"You've got quite an imagination."

"You have no idea."

Clent lowered his eyes briefly, not able to stop himself from falling into old sensual habits that had been part of their lives until the last morning that stole everything away from him. He suddenly felt guilty.

"Well," he straightened away. "I wanted to tell you goodbye since I didn't know what time you were leaving."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"But…we found Clark."

"I know."

The glasses on his nose shifted slightly forward but he made no move to right it.

"Why would you stay?"

Lois shrugged a shoulder, trying to play the nonchalance so she actually felt it. There wasn't a reason to stay and she knew it. She just knew she wanted to be here. She needed to.

"Someone's got to make sure you two boyscouts don't burn the marshmallows."

"And Wayne is okay with that?"

"Well," she shrugged her shoulders. "It's not like he has a choice."

* * *

The last two times she'd come back he'd welcomed her back home with an open mouth and willing lips. This time he watched her from across the room, everything changed and not for the better in light of new knowledge.

"Clark, do you believe him?"

"There's no reason he would lie."

"What…what does he want to do…with you?"

Clark sighed and leaned against the wall, sticking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He didn't know what Clent had in store, and whether or not he would want Lana around for any of it.

"He wants to help me."

Lana nodded her head and brought her arms across her chest as she took a step forward. She wanted to know. She wanted to know every word Clent had brought with him from the future, different world or not.

"With your destiny?"

"Yeah. He thinks I'm behind."

"Oh."

"Look, it's been a long day. You should go on to bed, Lana."

"What about you?"

"I'm, uh, going to be up for a while. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Clark," Lana shook her head. "You don't have – ."

"I think it's better this way."

He saw the way her face flashed with hurt and he wished he didn't feel this way, or that he didn't have to tell her. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.

"For now at least. Things are going to be crazy for a while."

* * *

They both dreamed of the same woman that night. For one man she was a storm that thundered in and wouldn't leave, bathing him with her water and fury and he couldn't have cared less, as long as it washed away a part of him that had floundered without her. The other man saw her as his blinding core, a strength that never wavered and that he always felt as he saved lives countries away when all he wished he could do was hold her while she slept.

When Clent woke he was full of the sadness that had swallowed him two years ago. But there was lightness, just a door away, and he didn't want to let go.

When Clark woke he fought his dream and the feelings of anxiousness that told him something about his heart had changed. He had no idea it was because of her.

* * *

Lois's first words to Clark in the morning were, "Hope you made a pot of coffee, Kent."

"Morning to you too," Clark replied as Lois marched past him into his house. When he turned back around to face Clent he narrowed his eyes. "What's Lois still doing here?"

"She wanted to stay."

"And you let her?"

"Has it really been that long, Clark? This is Lois we're talking about."

"How are we going to…you know?"

"My first plan would be to tell her the truth so we don't have to worry about it."

"Next idea."

"That was kind of the only plan I had in mind."

"It's too dangerous. I can't." He bit his lip before running his hand over his head. "What about Smallville?"

"What makes you think she won't follow us there?"

He was saved the answer. Dependable Lois.

"What the hell kind of coffee is this, Clark?! A four year old wouldn't drink something this soft!"

* * *

What she would give to be a fly on the wall, or a fly in the air considering Clent was outside in the open on the phone with Bruce. Lois leaned her elbows on the countertop and bit down on her lip as she watched Clent take his glasses off to rub his temple.

"What's the verdict?" Clark asked.

"I don't know." Lois didn't look beside her. "Bruce isn't very…trusting."

For a moment, he found himself watching the back of her neck, the slight dark brown hairs that hadn't managed to fit into her ponytail lying gently across her skin. His gaze wandered up higher to the side of her face, the tightness of her jaw and the firm set of her lips. She was the same Lois, unbelievable and one of a kind.

His eyes caught sight of her ring, flawless, and he remembered she had a whole new life. That was good. That was what he'd wanted four years ago.

"Congra – ."

Lois could feel him staring at her, touching her without physical contact, and it wasn't nice. It was unwanted, hard, too far gone to be friendly at this point. At that moment, she realized what an idiot she'd been to worry about his wellbeing. What did she care? Had he cared about her? No.

"If you're wondering, that article about the new Subway was hardly presentable. I had to rewrite the entire thing before I could even think about letting Tess see it."

"Uh, Subway article?"

"Yeah," she clicked her tongue. "The one I found on your desk when I came back from Star City and you went AWOL."

"Oh."

Clearing his throat, he let his eyes wander everywhere but on her. "I – ."

"Look, Clark," she sighed. "That thing with us yesterday was just a heat of the moment, oh my gosh, what the hell, moment. I've moved on without you rather well. I'm not your friend anymore. No hard feelings." Lois took in a deep breath and moved away from the counter as the screen door opened. "What'd you say to him, Clent?"

Clent frowned as he shut the door behind him. "That guy…."

"I know," Lois smiled at his perplexed look.

Clark swallowed, thrown by Lois's confession and then by the way his future self and her were standing – so close.

"Well," Clent sighed. "We're going to Smallville."

"Smallville?"

"Yeah, you know. Going back to Clark's roots to see where everything began. But, uh, during Bruce's Riot Act, he ordered you back home."

"What?! What did you tell him? Didn't I tell him I could take care of myself?! Give me that phone."

"Calm down, Lois." Clent couldn't help but widen his smile at her suddenly red face.

"What's so funny, old man?!"


	11. We've got to find other ways to make it

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

"Hey, L – ."

"Do you want me to kill you?"

"Ah, what, what are you talking about, Lo?"

"Don't play cute, Wayne. What's this about you _ordering_ me back to Gotham?"

His end of the line became quiet and Lois could see him dropping his feet from his desk to the floor and straightening his body in his chair.

"You're out in the middle of nowhere with two men you don't even know! I'm trying to get some sense into you."

"Listen here, Mr. Wayne. I can take care of myself. I am not stupid. I know when I'm being fooled and Clent is not the type of man to mess with my head." She rolled her eyes. "And neither is Clark."

"This Clent guy doesn't even exist, Lois!"

"And I explained that to you."

"But have you gotten proof? I know you too well to think you'd just accept his story without looking into the details first."

Lois looked back to the house and tucked her chin closer to her body so she could lower her voice.

"I'm not exactly at the right place to be investigating him, and besides, Clark trusts him."

One beat of strained silence.

"Well, if Clark Kent trusts him everything must be fine. Tell me, since when did he become your bosom buddy again?"

Her hand walked over the jeep before she leaned her side against the door and stared at the too green trees. She didn't need to be reminded of this by him when she was already telling herself how stupid she was for following Smallville after four years.

"You never knew Clark. He's incapable of lying."

"You don't _know_ Clark. Lois," his voice softened. "How sure of him are you?"

She closed her eyes, a headache on the horizon, but not quite visible enough for her to believe it would arrive. There were many things she never wanted to admit to, and when it came to Clark, it amounted to everything. Three years ago she'd told herself she'd never say one good thing about him to anyone ever again.

"As sure as I am about your instincts, Bruce."

The sound his lips working made her smile subtly. He was trying to make it seem like she hadn't won, like he'd actually stood a chance. She missed him, she thought sharply. He was always there.

"Bruce, I didn't – ."

"Wait, Lois. If I don't say this I'm going to go crazy. All I know about this guy is what you've told me, and it wasn't until three years ago at his mother's funeral before you told me all about your life in Smallville. I don't like him. I don't trust him. This other man, if he is his father, is probably just as shady. I'm just trying to protect you as best I can, and I know I never sound reasonable, but there's so much evil out there."

Always looking out for her, defending her, protecting her. Lois swallowed her pride, even if it took her a few seconds to do so.

"Bruce?"

"What?"

She nearly laughed at his gruffness.

"I should've told you I was coming out here."

"It would've been nice."

"I just had to do it, you know?"

"No, I don't know, Lois."

She leaned her head against the window at the sound of the resignation in his words and how they very nearly mirrored the truth of it all. She actually didn't know either.

"I'm not going to Smallville, Bruce. I never was."

"What?"

"If you hadn't gone caveman on me, I would've called you to tell you I was coming back home. You know how I feel about Smallville."

"I…I didn't know."

"And now you feel like a jackass, right?"

"I'd never admit it."

"Of course not." She straightened and tugged the back of her shirt down. "I'll have to wait until tomorrow because I gave Malcom the day off to see his family here. Though I'm sure I could learn how to fly the jet in no time."

"Ah, no, Lois. We can wait on the professionally trained pilot."

"Spoilsport."

"Lois," he sighed. "I'm sorry. I've just been on edge here with you gone."

"An actual apology? Wow. And don't be. If the tables were turned I'd probably act the same."

"Probably? You'd be having this conversation twenty feet behind my back with sunglasses and a wig wearing a trenchcoat."

* * *

Clent turned around to face Clark, his jaw tightly clenched and his brows deeply furrowed, her words running through his mind.

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing."

"You just heard what she said, Clark. What happened?"

"It's…I don't know. We shouldn't have been listening anyways."

"I'm going to find out."

"I'm not hiding anything." Clark slammed his palm on the counter. "But it's for the better."

"How is that?" Clent asked stunned.

Clark took a long look at her body standing beside her jeep, the fragile shape of her hands and her neck.

"She's safe from everyone who knows my secret."

"That's not true, Clark."

"Isn't it? After I left Smallville she was fine, Clent. She became one of the best reporters at The Planet. My enemies started searching for me and left Metropolis alone. She was able to have a normal life."

"We both know normal isn't Lois's style."

"And what about her life in your world? Is she better off knowing your secret?"

"We lived with the risks."

"And it was worth it? All the danger?"

"Yes." Clent took a step back, his boots thunder on the wooden floor. "It was worth it ten times over." He left with a slam of the door, a crack appearing in the thickness.

_"Do you ever think it was a mistake?"_

_Her warm body sighed, newly awake._

_"What? The wallpaper? Yes."_

_He closed his worried eyes, pulling his arm tighter around her thin waist and drawing her back flush against his naked chest. A touch of her fingers met his, moving up and across his single digits as he brought his lips down to her shoulder._

_"Us."_

_"Of course."_

_Clark__ leaned his cheek into the crook of her welcoming neck and breathed._

_"I'm serious, Lois."_

_"It was a stupid question, __Clark__."

* * *

_

Lana came upon him sitting on the mossy cliff with his legs dangling off the sharp edge and his head pointed toward the oddly mottled sky. There was a second, fleeting and immensely fierce, where she thought about turning around and giving him his space. She couldn't.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Clent's head lowered into a normal angle, but he didn't look behind him as she started walking forward, her steps strong and nothing like he remembered.

"There's an open seat if you want one."

"Thank you," Lana murmured, positioning herself beside him and trying to stare off into the distance like he was, but failing because her eyes kept wandering to the profile of his face.

"You look different too," he sighed.

He slowly turned his head to face her, letting her examine all the new difference and old sameness. It took her a long time to stop her perusal, but he found himself willing to wait. His fingers reached out hesitantly and touched a lock of her still dark hair. It ran through his fingers and fell back above her shoulder.

"It's short. It suits you."

Her parted lips moved slightly and she brought a shaky finger to graze the ear piece of his black glasses.

"That looks good on you."

They watched each other, two feet apart, separated by more and held together simply by luck. Clent remembered his time in Smallville, his love for the woman in front of him that he just knew he'd never recover from. But he had. He'd loved someone like he'd never known was possible.

"Clent," she swallowed. "We didn't get it wrong. Clark and I, we're silent warriors. There can't be something wrong with that."

He almost couldn't do it, destroy all the hopes that had gotten her here, but he couldn't lie to her either.

"His destiny isn't with you, Lana."

"But you," the shimmer in her eyes grew brighter, "can't say that if we're from two different worlds."

"The paths may change, but the destination is always the same. I'm sorry, Lana."

"Why can't I be part of it? He shouldn't be alone."

Even if he'd never been able to recapture a true friendship with Lana in his world, he'd always cared for her in his own way. It'd never been enough for her, but it was all he could give. His heart twitched in a minute direction, tired of hurting the people in his life who'd thought good things of him and torn between leaving this world as it was or how it should be.

"He won't be."

"Because you'll be there?"

"…Yes."

Her eyes blinked and as the long tears fell down her face she tried a smile that failed horribly.

"There's someone else?"

"Yes," he whispered.

"Who?"

"I shouldn't tell you."

Her hands wiped across her cheeks as her head nodded in agreement before her body stilled as inanimate as the ground below them. A gust of wind blew at them and she closed her eyes, a heaviness forcing them to stay closed even as the air returned to its normal limits.

"Lois," she breathed out. "It's Lois."


	12. Cause none of it was ever worth the risk

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

Her sneeze was stifled by the sleeve of her windbreaker.

"I love you, Shelby, but I'm glad Clark took you when he left."

Shelby kept his steady pace, leaving her behind as they fulfilled their wide circle around the quaint house. Lois stopped, placing her hands into her pockets as she stared at the building with a shrewd look. It nearly reminded her of Smallville, the utter simpleness of it. She shook her head, the ponytail swinging against her back, and decided to not risk running into Clark.

"You didn't get lost."

Midstride, she stopped, Clark's voice slamming into her brain and releasing memories that had long been under lock and key. They washed over her, pushed her under and refused to let her free even as she pounded her way to break the crest. Lois clenched her jaw and resumed her walking, past his house, his truck, her jeep, going until she passed the too bright sunlight and crossed into the dark, cool haven under the overgrown trees.

It was only when she placed her hands on tree's trunk and stopped shifting her feet that she heard him, still trailing behind her, still pursuing her, still _there_. There, when he shouldn't be. There when she finally didn't need him.

Lois turned, angry at him and livid with the way she allowed him to stay connected with her. All these years, these long years, and she wanted to be _that_ Lois again just to be close to the Clark she'd cared about.

"I'm sorry, Lois."

She emptied the worn feet of dirt between them and threw a strong finger onto his black covered chest as she looked up at him.

"Now you're sorry?!"

"I didn't want to leave like that."

"But you did! You did and we didn't know what the hell happened to you!" She sucked in a breath. "We thought maybe you'd just run off with Lana to get married or something, and then a year passed with no word. We didn't know what happened to you! Clark, God, we thought the worst!"

He wished at that second he could reverse it. Take it back like he hadn't meant it, regain four lost years, and not disappoint her. The pain he was seeing, the utter blame, burrowed into him and all he could think was that she deserved more. She deserved the truth so she would understand.

"It was complicated, Lois."

"Then explain it."

That was the moment. He knew it, and he knew it would change everything between them. It was the memory in time that he'd never be able to take back, that he'd be able to stop hiding. Clark gazed down at her, tossed back into dreams of the night before where life had been so much simpler and she had been someone much too close for comfort. She was Lois Lane, a pit bull, a mad dog. And like always, he stopped short. He failed.

"I – I can't."

A mistake if ever he'd made one, but he didn't want to see her run away from him, horrified at the confession, hurt, thrown into his world without asking and wishing she'd never met him. He was protecting her. He was sure.

It was the look on her face that made him hopeless, the disappointment that had been there from the moment she'd seen him on the road, and the lack of surprise at his failure. He'd never felt so low, not with anyone ever before.

"Of course you can't, Clark. When it comes to anyone but yourself, you're incapable of following through."

* * *

Not even thinking about his quick motions, he grabbed her forearm when she twirled away in disgust. It was automatic, intended to keep her there so he could wash his sins and be forgiven. She jerked away from him, pivoting on her boots in a nanosecond and glaring at him with a hatred that knocked him speechless.

"She asked for you when she died. Did you know that?" she whispered harshly. His eyes widened but he remained mute. "We were all there in the hospital room for days. Oliver and Chloe tried their best to find you. Jimmy and I even teamed up to bring you home because she asked about you every single damn day."

From the angle she was looking at him, she could clearly see the tightness on the side of his cheek, and she welcomed it. His breathing quickened and she wanted it to come faster.

"And she never blamed you, Clark. _Never_." Her voice caught but she continued. "'Clark's always had to do everything on his own time. He's out doing something important.' And I wanted to tell her no, no he's not out saving the world, Martha. He's just some scared boy who doesn't give a damn about any of us. I mean, I get it Clark. You leave me, Jimmy, even Chloe. Fine. But your mother?"

Something inside him broke apart, twisting inside of itself and stabbing him in every direction as he thought about his dying mother waiting for him to turn the circle. His voice was thick, heavy.

"I cared, Lois. She was my mom."

"Then how could you do that to her?!" Lois refused to believe she was crying even as the wetness on her cheeks cooled in the air. "Your own mother, Clark. I can't even imagine not being there when my…but you, you never came. What kind of person does that?"

A horrible one, he thought. One that had every right to be hated by her. One that had sacrificed too much for nothing in return. He could feel himself crumbling, the vision of the man he thought he was shifting into rocky pieces that would stand no longer. His head bowed and two large hands cupped his face as he turned his body away from her, a grief trying to rush through the cracks that he'd never allowed himself to feel completely.

His mother was gone. The last claim to Earth had vanished and he hadn't even fought to hold it down. Powerful shudders surged through his body and he knew he was crying softly, mourning her like he hadn't when he'd first found out he'd missed her passing. He'd let her down. She had expected him to save the world, but he was here.

"I _used _to believe in you, Clark. She was the only one who never lost faith."

She'd also dreamed about this, about tearing into him and making him rue the day he'd been born, but it seemed so needless now. She just wanted him to be sorry for his actions, to be haunted like she was. Lois watched his shoulders stutter with energy and it took so much of her to not go up to him and take him into her arms. After all this time, it's what seemed the most logical and natural act to do. She walked away instead.

"Lois?"

'_Don't turn around. Don't look back_.' She did both in spite of her inner thoughts.

Tiredly, she dropped her shoulders at his look. "What?"

"I never wanted to hurt anyone, Lois. I never – that was the whole point of leaving." His voice became clouded. "That was the whole reason. The _only_ reason."

"You weren't hurting anyone."

Clark shook his head, fingers harshly dragging over his cheeks to wipe away the salty tears.

"I hurt everyone around me, Lois. But her, I never wanted to hurt her. I never – you have to believe me. By the time I read about the accident in the paper there was no way I could go to her. I thought it would be okay."

Lois took a step forward.

"It didn't sound serious and I…I was busy working…"

She took another step ahead.

"A friend told me she was fine. I swear I thought she would be fine."

He took in a deep breath and she spent the time walking close enough to touch him.

"I didn't find out she died until the day after. I was too late."

"Why didn't you go to the funeral?"

Having her there, so close, looking up to him like she was on the brink of seeing him as she remembered, he gasped for another mouthful of air.

"I did. I was there, Lois."

* * *

"No," she shook her head, bangs falling into her face. "You weren't."

"You were the first to drop the dirt, Lois. Chloe was right behind you."

"That...that's just common sense."

So much dampened hope tried to rise to the surface of her features and he summoned every fiber of his being to hold the honest truth so she would never doubt him again. Clark let his fingers touch the nylon of her jacket, barely grazing the fabric in fear of a backslide.

"You put my picture in her casket before they closed it. Over her heart." His eyes frantically ran over her face. "You and Oliver were the last to leave, and you…you got into the passenger seat of his car but then you stopped moving."

Lois stepped back, but Clark pursued, holding onto her and onto his memory.

"You stared out of the windshield and finally you started crying. You cried so hard you could barely buckle your seatbelt and so Oliver did it for you."

"No," her head shook forcefully again. "No. No!" Her hands came to life, flat and wide against his chest, pushing against him and moving him backwards in quick strokes that would leave bruises on a normal man. "No, you weren't there!"

The day wafted back to her mind, dark and dreary, lost with 'hellos' and 'how are you's?' But she'd never seen him, not even a red piece of clothing stuck between a black swarm of mourners.

His voice was soft, gentle. "I was _there._ I was _right_ there."

* * *

The fight didn't leave her, not nearly, but it was bound by his fingers grabbing her wrists to stop her assault, quenched for the moment by the sincerity on his face. He never could lie. Lois curled her cold fingers as the skin above her forehead drew together in a loose frown. She didn't want to believe him. She'd spent so much energy hating him and now, to realize it hadn't been right….

"I never saw you."

Clarks fingers relaxed, reviving strong blood flow to her simple extremities. He breathed, startled at the simple and small sound of her voice, of the pureness of her hurt. Who was this woman in front of him?

"I watched from far away, Lois. I couldn't…she was my mother, and I wasn't ready to let her go. I didn't want to say goodbye." His voice cracked. "I was scared, Lois."

"Scared of what?"

"I'd never been more alone than when I found out she died, and to think that she might have felt that too? I was a horrible person…a horrible son. She was dead, Lois, and I wasn't ready for it."

This was her Clark, torn and divided with his love for the people around him. She never thought it'd be so easy to forgive him, and if not forgive, understand. Yet there she stood, looking up into his slightly quivering face and wishing _she'd_ known better.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Clark."

It had happened; he felt it. Her hands slid down his chest and slid around his body, giving him her strength and acceptance when he hadn't asked for either. Three years disappeared and it was her who'd found him, foregoing the anger because she had bigger news than either of themselves. It was _her_ who told him the woman who had given him his life on Earth, was gone and in some better place.

He twisted his hand around the hair falling from her ponytail and wrapped the other around her waist, holding her closer and lowering his head to press his cheek into the warm crook of her neck. He hadn't cried since the moment Bart gave him the news, not like this, not like he was finally mourning her. The tears poured out, strong and steady, just like Martha had been for him, always.

_She's dead_. Clark repeated the thought over and over again, breathing it, relinquishing it, tasting it. And Lois never wavered, which wasn't a surprise, even after the soft minutes when he quieted and continued to hang onto her. He found the beat of her heart, slow and calm, surging through her veins and entering his ears with a comfort he hadn't believed in.


	13. I was on the edge of a distant world

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

He was a step behind her, probably trying to find something to say to her about the whole breakdown just a few hesitant minutes ago. Lois hoped they would clear the trees before he found his courage and opened his mouth to say something that would ruin her deniability. She won.

"Looks like the party's starting, Clark."

"Huh?"

Clark followed the motion of her head, stopping when he saw Lana at Clent's side, the screen door slapping closed behind them as Lois's voice struggled to his ears.

"Who's calling me?"

"Lois?"

"Go on, Smallville," Lois shooed him away with a hand and brought her phone to her ear as she watched him leave with heavy steps.

Clent eyed the incoming Clark, noting the red eyes and awkward look to Lois.

"Where've you been, Clark?"

"Where've _you_ been, Clent?"

"I hope things went well?"

"Well enough. I'm still alive."

"Definitely a good sign." '_We'll talk about it later,'_ Clent's eyes added.

Clark's eyes shifted to Lana and whatever relief he'd felt before, slowly began to unhitch itself and travel along without him. Clearing his throat, he brought a hand up to his neck and rubbed at the hot skin surrounding his windpipe.

"Lois and I, uh, we've squared some things out."

Against all her will, Lana released her breath and smiled at his awkward stance, telling herself there was no way she could fight fate. It didn't mean she believed it yet.

"Oh? That's good."

* * *

"I come bearing great news."

The trio of superhumans stared warily at the smiling Lois Lane as she sauntered over to them. Lana bit first.

"What is it?"

"Malcom, the pilot, decided to cut his family time short. Considering his family, I'm not blaming him, but anyways, I'll be going back to Gotham today."

Clark chanced a glance at Clent who raised an eyebrow in return. Clark had no idea what it meant and so he turned his stare back to Lois.

"Um, when?"

"Well, it takes over an hour to reach the city so…two hours from now I'll be up, up and away. Come on, I figured you'd be happy. You've never been sad for me to leave before."

"I've never been happier, Lois." He smiled.

"Well, what do you say you keep your tears of joy to a minimum?"

He found himself smirking. It was so circular with them.

"I'll try."

* * *

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Lana."

"You too, Lois."

Lois shifted on her feet, Lana's heartbroken look making her more than uneasy and slightly nauseous. Throwing a tight smile Lana's way before sticking her hand out, Lois shook the other woman's hand and in spite of her mind telling her not to, voiced one request.

"Take care of him, will you?"

* * *

"Barreling in, causing mass chaos, and then storming out, classic Lane style."

"Get over yourself, Smallville. It's not like you'd have it any other way."

Clark felt his lips spread open in a smile as he looked over her head, telling himself she was absolutely right and it was fine that he felt that way towards her. She was after all, Lois Lane. He found her eyes again and this time there was a pulse inside his body that drew him a step closer to her body. Her eyes widened barely, showcasing the hazel colors he'd been looking for subconsciously when he met a stranger. Clark cleared his throat and undid his step forward, just like everything between them.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to. I mean, it's been a long time and we've finally…cleared some things up."

Lois blinked. "Are you kidding me? No offense, but this 'out in the middle of nowhere pit hole' is your schtick, not mine."

He sighed. "You haven't lost your way with words."

"I'm a reporter, Kent. Words are my livelihood."

"For insults, swearing, and general domination."

"You forgot a few."

"Really? Like what? Pigheadedness?"

"Truth, justice, _and_ the American way."

An eyebrow rose, dark and defined above his eye when he shook his head. It'd been so long since any of this, her, him, them, that to watch it walk away was surreal, hard.

"I'll have to remember that."

"You do that, but don't forget," she tapped his chest with her palm before walking backwards, not wanting to end this with anything resembling a hug for closeness, "your source."

* * *

"Well."

"Well," Lois mimicked, staring up at Clent.

He chuckled lightly before placing his back against the door of the jeep, his elbow touching her arm lightly. They both looked straight ahead, bodies calm and fingers amazingly still.

"I'm glad you and Clark worked things out."

"Yeah," one of her dark boots slid against the grass. "I guess it's over and done with."

"Done with?"

Lois turned her head at his tone, surprised at his alarm, confused at the hardness at its edges.

"I was really only angry at him for…because of Martha, his mother. Now that he's explained himself, we can burn the bridge and move on." Clent will come back to this, Lois talking to him about how she lost hope when the blur left metropolis, and even more when Martha died without her son.

"Oh, right." His face moved away from hers. "That's good."

"You've really stepped into this fatherhood real quick haven't you?"

"Eh, it's surprisingly not so hard."

"Well, you've got it easy. Clark's a good kid, man."

"Did you just compliment Clark Kent?"

Scowling at Clent's soft smirk, Lois straightened herself and pulled open the driver side door.

"I've officially been here too long. The fresh air must be killing my brain cells. Have a good time."

"Wait, Lois," he stopped her with a gentle touch in the hinge of her arm, searing through the fabric and making her flush as she ceased motion.

His smile, slow and endearing, caused her heart to pick up its cadence and nearly rumble through her chest. He looked so much like Clark, so much like the memories that reminded her she was an idiot for ever thinking she might have been special in Clark's life. But this wasn't Clark. Not even close.

"Thank you, Lois. I couldn't have done this without you."

It was if he'd just told her she was the clinching pin holding everything together, the backbone of the skeleton that made balance possible, the heart of something that would only live if she did. She gulped, overwhelmed by his nearness and his words, forgetting she was someone else's love, losing that he was another man's father.

"You'll be getting the check, old man."

This time, when he laughed, she smiled with him, watching as his hand haltingly raised itself and drew nearer to her face. She didn't know why he would want to bring the back of his index finger across her face, but she did know she didn't want to stop him. There was a force inside her, begging for his touch even though the reason was undetermined and more than likely too good to be true.

One brush, a second and final stroke across her chin and she watched his face tighten with an expression she couldn't define. His hand fell, limp and heavy like a two ton boulder attached to a flimsy spider's web. He stepped back, a near apology on his lips but nowhere near his eyes. And then he was gone, walking away with his shoulders stooped and hands shoved into the pockets of his windbreaker.

* * *

She loved Bruce. Of that, there was no doubt.

Lois brought a hand over her eyes. Her back solidly pressed into the black cushions of the plush two-seater Bruce had instantly fallen in love with when they had traveled to Germany, and had since never left this particular jet. So many long memories, recent memories, involved him and his dark nature, the flashes of light and wit just beneath the surface. He hadn't smiled so much when she met him; barely even spoke two words to her when he entered Metropolis in the wake of a merger that left Tess Mercer skewered on the edges of the town.

She remembered Oliver falling into himself, blaming Lex and even himself for the tragic fate of the red headed woman. Mr. Wayne whispered through, tough and mysterious, shaking Oliver back together and maybe even earning the honor of knowing who Green Arrow was. She'd never asked.

A vibration coming from her side caused her to moan. Eyes closed and not bothering to flip her lids up at the ID plate, she brought the cell to her ear.

"This is Lane."

"Ah, it's nearly two your time. I thought you'd be awake by now."

"Bruce," Lois sighed, smiling as she dropped her right arm and let her hand rest against the carpet. "You just had to hear my voice, didn't you?"

"No, I've actually been enjoying the peace and quiet that was here before you stomped into my world."

"Excuse me for bringing some excitement into your hum-drum life."

"'Hum-drum?' Most men would've killed for the life I had – the fancy parties, expensive vacations, beautiful, naked women."

"Hey, hey. Watch it before those memories of naked woman are all you'll have for the rest of your married life."

"I love it when you're jealous."

Lois rolled her eyes when he ended the statement with his essential chuckle, the sound buzzing into her ears and creating a rush of warmth that tingled in her fingers.

"I don't experience that emotion."

"Riiight."

"I don't!"

"You keep telling yourself that, Lo. How's the flight?"

"Long," she groaned. "But your chair is comfortable."

"You're not drinking on it are you?"

Her vision focused on the white Styrofoam cup holding her coffee held in place by the crook of the arm of his precious chair.

"No."

"Lois…."

"I'm not!"

* * *

"Bart told me." Clark picked up a shirt from the bed. "Before, he'd tried…tried getting me to go home before but I couldn't…wouldn't." He started folding the black fabric and continued.

"But when the accident happened, I went to see her. She was asleep and Chloe was keeping watch. I…I didn't think it would matter if I just kept checking in to make sure she was fine. And then I stopped, just for two days and…she died, aneurysm in her brain."

Clent closed his eyes and brought a hand to his dry throat.

"I-I'm sorry, Clark."

This time, Clark picked up a shirt and threw it into the suitcase.

"Lois was right to hate me."

"You don't mean that."

"I do. Everything I've done it's been for La –," he exhaled. "I'm supposed to be this great hero. But I'm not any different than I was four years ago, or even eight."

"You…can't fly?"

Clark continued throwing his clothes haphazardly into a suitcase old enough to crease where no junction was alive.

"No. Is that a problem?"

Clent zipped up the duffel bag containing the last of Clark's clothes.

"And you never trained at the fortress?"

"No. Is that a problem?"

"No," Clent felt his lips curl slightly. "Surprisingly, that's probably for the best. Is this all you're taking?"

"Unlike Lois, I don't need to cart all my earthly belongings in seven jumbo suitcases and a cardboard box."

They shared a look and then Clent ticked his head to the right.

"You ready?"

"Yeah." Clark took one last look around his room, expecting to feel some sort of homesickness to drive through him, but he felt nothing of the kind. He felt relieved, excited even, to be heading back to Smallville, back home. "I'm ready."


	14. Tonight, I don't feel like coming back

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

Placing the phone onto the floor, Lois stared at the refrigerator, sleek and black. Most of Bruce's belongings were dark, sharp, fundamentally useful in some way.

The day she'd met him it'd been raining, pouring cats and dogs and showing no signs of faltering. Her umbrella had allowed her to keep her strong pace, the sidewalk her foundation against the boots she'd dragged out from her closet. She'd seen him only because he stood out from the rest, no umbrella, no taped over newspaper or weary briefcase, a hat tipped forward with a long black jacket buttoned over his tall frame, but that had been it. He'd been walking, carelessly oblivious to the rain judging by his slow trudge down the street, hands in his pockets.

They met at the door. He'd held it open for her, a hint of a smile at the very recess of his lips. She'd given a 'thanks', a nearly smitten smile that was on its way to form her name, but then he was a vision of black walking away from her.

The next time she'd seen him had been six days later, ripe in the evening, lonely during the week. Stopping with the files in her hands gaining tremendous weight, she took in his body sitting in the chair of the desk across from her. '_A ghost_,' she'd thought, stepping over her grave. He never sat there again.

There was no doubt she was in love with Bruce Wayne, his faults, his stoicism, his being. So why was the look on Clent's face, the feel of his single digit on her skin and the draw of his soul keeping her awake?

* * *

Clark stopped before he reached the house, the near ruining of the barn causing him to swallow in shame as he heard his father's condemnation. He remembered it standing red, solid, whole, not like a shadow bitten by time and neglect. There was a sound of air moving too fast and Clent was suddenly beside him, looking in the same direction.

"I can't believe it's been like this, Clent."

"All that matters is you're here to fix it now."

Even as he berated himself, Clark felt himself bite a smile and he threw his suitcase onto the faded porch of the house before walking toward his home away from home to begin the repairs.

"Clent, do you realize you sounded like our dad!?"

* * *

They were falling, fast, hard, unsteady, into the night over the fruited plains and amber waves of grain. Lois rolled off the chair and onto the floor, hitting the refrigerator ungracefully with her head and pounding her left foot into the cabinet.

"Malcom!"

There was too much sound, too much wind, too many beepings emitting from the cockpit. She crawled on her hands and her knees, shuddering when the jet did, falling onto her stomach when a dangerous dip knocked them even faster into their fatal destination.

"Malcom! Damnit, answer me!"

She aimed for the doorknob, jamming her body against the wall and wrenching the door forward before throwing herself onto the carpeted floor where all hell had broken loose.

"Malcom!"  
"Miss Lane! Find a parachute!"

"What happened?!"

His muscles were knotted red, the energy of righting the monstrosity taking its toll and with no mercy. He shook his head and freed a hand, waving her away.

"We're not going to make it! We'll have to jump!"

* * *

She watched him begin to throw the parachute on, the sounds of the buckles loud in her ears even though there was no earthly way she could have picked up the sound. Closing her eyes, Lois took one deep breath to calm herself, and before she could end her thoughts, her voice said them aloud.

"Bruce, let this damn thing work!" Her lips wavered then, loose and noncommittal, surprising her. "Clent."

* * *

His name pierced through everything, stopping him dead cold in his tracks and nearly knocking Clark in the head with the two by fours he was carting around. The lumber dropped, a freefall of uneven thuds in the memory of his presence as he flew out of the barn.

"Lois!"

* * *

Lois sank, searing through the sky and trying to look over her shoulder to see if Malcom was behind her. He was. He was coming straight for her, arms limp and legs wide, the white of his outfit a beacon in the dusky sky.

"Malcom!" she screamed, a whisper that traveled only so far before the rushing air and opposite gravitational pull sucked it up and never gave it back.

Without hesitating she gripped the collar behind his neck in both her hands before forcing her legs around his waist, losing her balance and sending them spinning, spiraling lopsided as if in an acrobatic air show. Her energy slipping, her eyesight dry, she fumbled to tie them together, somehow and some way before she had to let the parachute inside her sack free.

And then she was no longer free falling.

* * *

"I've got you. Don't worry."

Lois looked up, her eyes widening in disbelief as she then looked to her feet to find them no longer obeying gravity, but defying the notion.

"You've got me?! But who's got you?!"

His chest moved against her body and she knew the chuckle nearly reached her ears, but she was suddenly attuned to the shape of his neck, the sharp angle of his mandible, and the grey streak marking his temple in his midnight black hair.

Mute, she gawked at him for long seconds before his head turned to look at her. The past few days of her life ran through her mind in jumbles muttered in stationary semi-circles which connected in that instant she found his eyes.

"Oh, my God. Clent!?"

And then all she saw was black.

* * *

_"I guess," Lois shook her head, "I just didn't think it would be this hard."_

_He took one step forward but she raised a hand in the air, stopping him as though a wall of kryptonite had formed in front of him._

_"What are you saying, Lois?"_

_She looked away from him, trying to stop the tears and knowing the only way was to say this without watching his reaction, being the coward she never thought she'd be._

_"You're…Superman, Clark. And I am," she broke, finding his blue eyes burning into her. "And always will be so **proud** of you."_

_"Lois, don't do this."_

_A sound emitted from her throat, a near cry as she kept her voice._

_"I know you love me and I love you. But the world needs you more than I do, and I think, maybe you need the world more than you need me."_

_"That's not true!"_

_Lois bit her lip and brought a hand to control the fallen tears sliding quietly down her cheek. She held the ring in her fingers for a second longer before placing it on the counter, nearly colliding into a wall of grief when his eyes started to glisten._

_"Lois?"_

_"Goodbye, __Clark__."_

He'd left her. Lois stood outside the hospital, discharge papers tucked into the back pocket of her jeans along with a card marred with the number to call for updates on Malcom's surgery. She sat on the park bench, a metal seat barely tolerant of her weight and creaking in the darkened evening. Her glance darted around to her surroundings, taking in everything or trying to at least.

She bit her lip. "Come out, wherever you are."

There was nothing, not even a stray person ambling past with a cup of coffee set to get them through the night. Maybe, just maybe, she was wrong. Lois considered it a moment, one moment too long because she knew without a doubt the man who'd saved her tonight was the same man she'd said goodbye just hours ago.

"Clent. Now."

A breeze, a rustle, and then a weight on her shoulder. Lois whirled on the bench, fingers gripping the railings as she looked up at an ordinary looking man with ordinary seeming clothes. Quickly, she rose, body turning to face him and keeping the seat between them for protection. She swallowed, the words flowing with her saliva and tumbling down her esophagus. Lois frowned as she looked him up and down again, trying to tell herself she had just been in his arms thousands of miles above the ground.

"Who the hell are you?"

He could feel it in her pounding tone, the fear surging through her but the curiosity greater. Clent told himself it didn't hurt when he stepped forward and she took a step back from him.

"Lois, don't be scared. I can explain everything." His hands in the air, palms forward, face relaxed, he signaled truce. "But not here."

Lois let her eyes wander around them, taking in the darkness and the open space lit up by the hospital lights.

"Where?"

"Smallville," he replied. "With Clark."

* * *

Tucked behind the hospital, an empty ambulance shielding them from view, Lois stopped behind Clent, her feet sharp against the ground. He turned around slowly, giving her a wide berth and extending a hand out towards her. She immediately froze, one hand at her side and the other near her chest. Her eyes looked up to his, barely visible in the darkness but bright none the less. There was a quiver in his posture and she wondered if he was as afraid of her as much as she was of him.

"Clent…."

His mouth softened; his palm flattened, an invitation still. She bit her tongue as her foot slid forward, silent on the concrete and wavering in her doubt. It wasn't until her fingerpads touched his that the last of her fear disappeared, gone with his touch and the gentle reassurance of the covering of his own fingers on hers. Lois felt her forehead wrinkle as the space between them emptied to mere centimeters and she heard the intake of his breath when she let her other hand rest on his broad chest.

Slowly, his right arm wound around her waist and this time she was the one to lose her breath when he lifted her up on his chest and then dropped her so her shoes stood on top of his boots. Her left hand gripped his, intertwined now.

"Hold my glasses?"

The deepness of his voice caused her to swallow, but her right hand shakily met the frame of the black glasses and delicately removed them without touching his skin. He watched her, eyes boldly warm and she knew this wasn't right. She couldn't be feeling this, with him, now. He shouldn't be looking at her like that, not here.

"Ready, Miss Lane?"

There was a moment, bright and clearly defined where she realized this was a mistake. This was not how her life was supposed to lead, and if she did this, trusted him, everything would change. She just _knew_ that her crossroad was underneath her, and what scared her the most was that this path felt _better_.

"Yes," she whispered.


	15. There's something in between you and I

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

"Oh my God!" Lois nearly twirled out of his arms and couldn't contain her grin as she quickly walked back to him and gripped the front of his black t-shirt. "That was…amazing!"

Clent laughed at her reaction, the brightness of her eyes, the utter excitement causing her to nearly dance before him. There was just so much life in her and he'd been trying so hard to remember it in another Lois already gone.

"How the hell can you do that?! What else can you do?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

He found her hands by instinct driven through years of contact and she didn't pull away from him. Clent brought his face closer to her smiling lips.

"Lois, slow down. Which one do you want answered first?"

Lois bit the side of her lip, seriously thinking the question over and finally settling on something she hadn't asked.

"Does Clark - ?"

"Lois?" Clark's voice cut her short, the dirty red washcloth in his hands stopping motionless the same time his feet did. His entire body stilled, only his eyes widening when he realized she was standing before him with her hands belonging to Clent and her hair slightly askew in its ponytail.

"Smallville." Lois did the next motion without thinking: removing her grip on Clent's fingers so her hands were free as she shoved them behind her back. "Hey."

"What," Clark glanced briefly at Clent, "What are you doing here, Lois?"

"I," she waited, chancing a look at the man who'd saved her. He nodded his head, encouraging her with his smile, a little too small to be happy. With a swallow, she turned her face back to Clark, wondering if he was going to laugh at her and whether she'd hit him for it. "I had to jump from the jet."

"What?! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Smallville." She breathed. "Thanks to Clent."

The feeling wound itself into a ball and hit him in the stomach, nearly causing Clark to feel his knees weaken. Clent had flew off shouting her name. Now, she was here, and she was safe. She knew. She _knew_. His eyes closed in resignation, and then he heard Clent's voice, soft and directed to Lois.

"I'm sorry, Lois."

"For what?"

"Lying," Clark heard the sharp intake of breath entering Clent's mouth. "I'm not Clark's father. I'm from another universe."

* * *

"Ah, what?"

Clent peered down at Lois, memorizing the way her lips refused to completely close in her confusion. He counted the beats of her frenzied heart, the exact same beats he'd heard a lifetime ago right before another Lois took the last of her breaths.

"I came from an alternate universe. I don't know what brought me here, or why, but I woke up in this different world the day I found you."

There were many things Lois had seen and read in her life, but this, this hadn't even registered in the realm of possibilities. She looked to Clark, seeing the droop of his shoulders and wondering what the hell he was thinking and why he wasn't freaking out. His eyes caught hers and even in the dark light she could see the piercing blue of his irises, and they didn't appear disbelieving.

"Lois?" Clark's voice shot through the short distance and tried to gain footing on her ground. She flinched from the sound and turned her head sharply back to Clent, mouth shooting words.

"That's not possible."

Clent attempted a smile, failing miserable in the simple process.

"Neither is flying."

* * *

The insects created an orchestra and one by one, each bug cued on its entry, began the symphony of the whole theme. For a long minute, it was all she heard other than the breathing of one man in front of her and another behind her. He was from another dimension. Clent. Clent Jones. It clicked, all of it, or most of it. Her stance tightened as she took a step backward in protectiveness, one step closer to Clark.

"What did you want with Clark?"

Lois watched as Clent looked over her shoulder, a seeming tale woven in the invisible glance to Clark. What she felt next was a pressure on her arm as Clark's hand tried to turn her towards him. It didn't take much force, not with curiosity and fear lurking right under her skin.

* * *

He didn't want to tell her. He'd spent four years keeping it from her, trying to keep her safe, and succeeding only when he'd left her alone. Clark swallowed, biting down the anger at Clent for making him do this to all of them. Her eyes were waiting, wide, and in spite of all they'd managed to mend, he wondered if she would forgive him for yet another lie. He wondered if she would run. And for the first time, how much it would hurt.

Then, he spoke.

* * *

Lois felt her mouth freeze. _I was the Red-Blue Blur. _Another ten seconds passed and she finally felt her jaw unhinge with a question directed to both of them.

"What?!"

Clark glanced at Clent, still stonily silent, and then focused back on a shell shocked Lois Lane. He let out a harsh breath.

"Watch me."

She did, or she tried to. One second he was in front of her and the next he was gone with a rush of wind that pulled her forward to her toes. And then suddenly he was thirty feet in front of her sitting the tractor down on the ground. Her mouth opened. She couldn't find the words.

"You're speechless." He frowned. "That's never a good thing."

"How..." she took a step forward. "You can't be. You're just Smallville."

Disappointment rocked through him, and it unsettled him so much that he couldn't look at her. He'd expected this, hadn't he?

"It all makes sense."

His head shot up as she looked him over, starting at his feet and meandering up until she found his eyes.

"The half baked excuses, the disappearances….All this time," she frowned. "It's always been you, hasn't it? You're the…the hero?"

The word shocked him back to life, the gravity of it pushing him forward until her reaction stopped him in his tracks. Her feet shuffled a step back and that was all he needed to stop his pursuit.

"No, I just did what needed to be done, Lois."

Lois shook her head, a sigh escaping through her curving lips as she finally undid her step back and found herself an armslength away from Clark Kent.

"I _lived_ with you! How did I not put the pieces together? Was I high that entire time?"

It seemed too easy, he thought, but he didn't dwell on it. She wasn't running away from him. She wasn't looking at him like he was some monster. He didn't realize he was smiling at her, not until it fell as she whirled on her boot and threw a finger to Clent.

"Okay. He's the Red-Blue Blur. Who are you?"

Clent took a deep breath. "I'm Superman. And I'm Clark Kent."

* * *

"I'm," Lois looked to Clark for help, "not following."

"Lois, look at _me_," Clent whispered.

She did, slowly and with her hands folded in front of her. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something, maybe understand, but she didn't. She kept staring at him and where before she'd seen Clark's father she saw Clark's face, older and weary. And then the voice that had been banished from her thoughts meshed with a deeper version of the same strain just years older.

"We're the same man."

"We're the same man."

* * *

Her eyes traveled between the two men, taking in the exact same body posture and finally seeing what she hadn't all along. They were exact replicas of the other. But it just wasn't possible. It wasn't and she knew it.

"You aren't Clark." Her hand thumb pointed behind her. "He is."

"I'm Clark Kent in my world." His voice quickened. "I was never called the Red-Blue-Blur, but I _was_ named Superman." He shakily exhaled a last gasp of air. "By you. Your sister is Lucy and your father hates me and my favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird and you _can_ actually cook one thing, beef bourguignon."

Breathe in. Breathe out. Seven sequences that turned before Clark touched her shoulder and she physically flinched away; even Clent winced with Clark in pain.

"Lois, are you okay?" Clark asked.

She wasn't. Of all the confessions and truths that had been exchanged just now, that was the only thing she truly believed and comprehended. She was not okay.

Lois felt her hands jittering and stuffed them into the pockets of her slacks. Time travel. Alternate dimensions. Body switches. Even Clark being The Red Blue Blur. That, well, that she could handle. Knowing that the man in front in front of her was actually the man behind her, not so much. Her mind grated against the steel as she realized the man she'd been drawn so close to, was actually a man she'd known for well over eight years. Not Clent, but another Clark. _Clark__._

"I know it's a lot to take in," Clark reached for her again and nearly sighed in relief when she let him grasp her shoulders. "And I won't blame you if you run away screaming."

She blinked twice. It all snapped shut tightly then, meeting at the edges in perfect covering. Clent was Clark from another reality. Okay. Okay. Not cool, but okay. This _was_ Smallville after all, and it wouldn't beSmallville without Weird.

"Alright," she licked her lips. "This is Smallville. Of course he's a superhero from some second dimension where he's already lived half of his…your life."

The two men stared at her and she frowned at them.

"Why didn't you tell me? I mean, I know why _you_," she looked to Clark, "didn't tell me. Actually, I don't, but that's something else altogether." Lois turned under Clark's grip to find Clent, his face already turning the answer over. "Why didn't _you_?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell."

"But you're _him_."

"He's lived his own life, Lois. All of this," he motioned in a wide circle, "I had nothing to do with. Your Clark, _that_ Clark, he's the one that's been living in this universe with you. Even if we're the same, he's the only one meant to tell you his secret."

"So, you lied? These past three days you kept letting me think you were his _father_! How," her hand drifted to her forehead, rubbing across the tightened skin in light of the new information. She'd felt so guilty before, having awkward feelings for her ex-best friend's father. Now it was worse. He was _Clark__._ God, he was _Clark_.

_They_ were Clark, and it was more than disastrously wrong.

"You didn't trust me," she stated monotonously.

"What? No!" Clent moved quickly, taking three quick strides to try and reason with her. "Lois, I said – ."

"You didn't say _anything_!" The rage, unfiltered, poured over her and it came from nowhere. He was a stranger, a friend, a connection, and she felt betrayed by the omission of truth. It made no sense – He was just Clent, Clark, whoever. It shouldn't burn this way, consuming and holding heat hotter than a supernova. She frowned, surprised by herself and then blowing even angrier at her reaction.

She left them at her back, Clark yelling for her while Clent's voice strained into silence. Lois kept walking away, the air capturing her body as her long steps carried her farther away from the biggest mistake of her life.


	16. I never once understood your dealings

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

Clark's lips pursed together. His teeth met hardly. The muscle near the rear of his jaw tightened as he swallowed. Her figure darkened in the shadows, the evening succumbing to night and a little more as his mouth opened.

"Do you realize what you've just done?"

"I've just fixed part of your problem."

"No," Clark turned his body. "You've just dragged Lois into this without talking to me about it! There's a reason I never told her! My life is too dangerous and I am not risking any more lives."

"Your life is too dangerous?" Clent scoffed, his face tightening with his blooming anger. "You haven't been doing anything with your life to _be_ dangerous."

"What happens when I do? What happens when you turn me into the man you think I'm supposed to be? How do I protect her then?"

* * *

Her hands, clasped together under her chin along with her elbows resting on her knees, shook slightly when she heard him walk up the steps of his clubhouse. It'd been years since she'd heard the sound of his feet against the wood, but four years ago she'd once sat here long enough to have the lack of vibrations cemented pitifully into her brain.

Her head didn't move, not when Clark cleared his throat and not when he drew back the rest of the sheet Martha had used to cover his softened chair, claiming hopefully that the first place Clark would return would be in this spot, in this barn.

His body sank heavily beside her and from the corner of her eye she saw him frown before assuming her position. Lois returned her stare to its rightful place, directly in front of her at the wall, thoughts beginning to waltz through. She'd surpassed anger rather quickly along her journey among the dying farmland, and moved on to disappointment. Not with Clark or Clent, but with herself.

"Lois?"

Without saying anything, she turned her head on her hands and waited. This was how she remembered it went between them – her waiting and him stalling.

"Are you," his throat hesitated, "okay?"

"I'm fine."

Silence came, stilted and lying, both of them knowing it. Clark sighed lightly and she knew something more was on the precipice. Quickly, her hands unfolded themselves and her body slid back into the chair, the old softness holding up her back. More thickness surrounded them and the weight of it made both of them uncomfortable, but they endured it, afraid of anything else.

"I'm sorry, Lois." Her head tilted and he stared down to his fingers dangling between his knees. "I never wanted to get you involved with my secret."

"Why?" She ignored the scratchiness in the single syllable.

"My life is anything but ordinary, and it comes with a set of risks that only I should have to live with. It's not fair to put that on someone else, especially someone I care for."

"Is that why you never told Chloe or Lana. I mean, before you left with Lana?"

A pull, hard and blunt, nearly knocked him back as the question registered along with the inevitable answer. He swallowed, thumbs brushing nervously against the other.

"They…they've known for years."

There was no reason for the sentence to hit her like it did, but she felt it all the same, punching into her stomach. She'd been the last. The absolute last.

"Right," she sighed, pushing herself forward and standing from the chair. "Of course."

"Lois, it's not like that."

Lois crossed her arms, a tilt of her head implying her disbelief. "Like what?"

"I never told them my secret. They just found out."

* * *

She stared at him. The fingers of her left hand tapped on her right arm, shortly and lightly while she worked her lips into a whisper.

"You're really the Red-Blue Blur?"

"Yeah."

The light of the lamp she'd lit with solid hands and an old match marched over his face and she suddenly realized she'd known all along. It was as if the pieces had been sitting in front of her and she'd been too focused on the one in her hand to see the bigger picture. Of course he was the Red-Blue-Blur. Who else could it have been?

"And he's really you from another dimension?"

Clark could hardly believe it. She'd accepted him, his secret or most of it, almost like it was absolutely ordinary. She wasn't confused about who he was or about what changed now between them. The other shoe was bound to drop, and maybe it would be this: Clent.

"Yeah."

* * *

"Okay." Lois nodded her head once, her feet walking in front of him without her brain's permission. "Why'd you really leave? What was more important than saving lives?"  


* * *

"It's not…."

Words failed and there was no cause for it. He knew the reason he'd left, and he knew the reason he'd stayed gone. But just before saying it, the reason seemed unsatisfactory, embarrassing, wrong. The longer she waited for an answer, the more he knew she'd never understand. Maybe that was right.

"Lex was making a suit so he could have superpowers. Lana came back to Smallville to make sure he never put the suit on, so, she did it before he could. We knew he wouldn't stop until he found her and so we had to leave for everyone's safety."

She'd expected something else. Some monster of doom was trying to kill him. Someone had found out about his abilities and blackmailed him. Those were all answers she'd already managed to understand. The one he gave her fell flat, dropped too true and too believable. It was so…Clark.

Lois scoffed, rubbing her hand softly against her eyes.

"You left to protect her, not us."

Standing, Clark shook his head, waiting for her to look at him but she kept shaking her head.

"You know how ruthless Lex is, Lois. If we'd have stayed you all would've been in danger. It was the only way."

"No," she glared at him. "No, it wasn't. You could have fought back. You're a superhero, Clark! Hell, you even said Lana has powers now!"

"I wasn't about to take a chance with your lives."

"But you were going to take a chance with Miss Perfect, right? Run off and play house like all the times before because it worked out so well then?"

"I took the bullseye away from the people I cared about."

"And left Metropolis to Intergang? Lex?"

A switch flicked inside him, a light source burning bright even after years of disuse and rust. She was blaming him for it all, and finally so was he.

"It was a mistake, alright?! Is that what you want to hear?" Clark stalked away from her, only to turn around on his heel and walk back towards her red face. "I should have known better! I should have remembered that no matter how much I loved her, we never were at the same place with each other. She could've had her life and I could've had mine and maybe my mom would still be alive. But I can't take it back. Alright? I _can't_."

The shared glare passing between the two of them remained heated, just like before at the beginning when something so strong had pulled them together and neither of them had wanted it to. Clark's shoulders fell before he dropped back onto the sofa, deflated. There it was; he'd said it. It was over, him and Lana. Without searching for her gaze he spoke to the air, voicing something he never thought he'd have to say.

"We're really not meant to be together."

"No duh," Lois muttered.

"I was talking about me and Lana." His fingers interlocked as he brusquely shook his head. "It's too much, or maybe it's too little, for her."

Lois was stuck there for a long moment, looking down at Clark and feeling like the four years didn't matter when they were still trudging through Lana Drama Land. She didn't like it, didn't want anything to do with it, but she unglued her arms and sat back down, reclining in the cushions and looking at the wall just as he was.

"Clark, do you think it's a possibility _we_ just sucked into some time warp because it suddenly feels like six years ago."

His brooding frown softened and Clark balanced his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands where he stayed that way for a long time.

"Lois?"

"Yeah?"

"I never imagined my life like this."

She watched as his right hand fell and the other cupped his cheek so he could look at her. Lois threw her glance elsewhere as she felt something pluck at her heart that had to do with her cousin's wedding and a broken dance.

"What _did_ you have in mind?"

"Not this." His tremulous smile was anything but happy. "I guess my other self couldn't have come at a better time."

What popped into her head was a pleading Clent, his eyes burning into hers and telling her she named him and that her father hated him.

"Everything must end up alright for you, Clark."

"Why?"

"Clent, or, you, must have gotten something right because he managed to have a somewhat normal life."

"What do you mean?"

"He told me he had a wife." Clark's eyes widened and she felt herself frowning. "I mean, these are two different worlds, but won't some things stay the same?"

* * *

Married. Him?

Clark felt like he could almost breathe. Somewhere he had found his purpose in life _and_ someone he loved with all his heart.

"Did he say…anything about her?"

"No," Lois picked at her nail for a second. "All he told me was…she died two years ago."

Hearing it, he felt his heart plummet in his chest and an emptiness he'd never felt before began to swallow his mind. It would be later when he realized how much he and Clent were connected, but right now it was as if she was more connected to him and how the news had affected him. She looked at him strangely, her mouth moving as if this were natural.

"I'm sorry."

The apology wasn't insincere, which was odd, he thought. He'd lost no one; Clent had. He tried to tell her not to say such a thing, but he lost the reply in a swallow which was thicker than it should've been. Clark looked at her, watching her face remain soft and still strong, always Lois. Always the woman he remembered on sunny days and wet soaked earth nights in fleeting thoughts brushed quickly away.

It dawned on him that there was nothing standing between them now. The truth was in the open, no longer shielding him from her, and it scared him. She always did expect more. Behind the banter and snarky putdowns, she'd always seen the shadow of the more he'd tried to hide. The secret surrounding them instead of dividing them, he could only imagine what bars had risen and why he didn't want to let her down. Not again.

* * *

"Congratulations," he said quietly, needing to dance away from the former subject, not ready to jump that gun.

Her look was confused, brows barely drawn together and lips tightly together.

"I," he smiled, "saw the announcement in the papers."

Clark glanced down to the ring on her left hand, not sparkling in the dim light, but warm around her skin. He watched her bring the hand into her right, the fingers twisting the metal and diamond around her slender ring finger. A flash of a smile claimed her lips, one he hadn't seen in years, one he might have made up because he was sure that smile had never held the emotion it was now.

She looked up and his breath nearly caught. Lois Lane in love, deeply and sharply, never holding back always startled him. It pricked somewhere inside him, out of nowhere and overwhelmingly strong in its unbidden attack. Suddenly, her mouth shaped an O and her legs brought her standing, a hand reaching into the pocket of her slacks for the sleek black phone stashed away.

"I told Bruce I'd call him back once things calmed down. Uh…" the phone hesitated on its journey to ear, almost as if he, the freak, was forgotten so easily. Her mouth worked, uselessly, but it worked to find someway to end the conversation without ending it.

"No, it's alright. Go on, Lois."

Hesitation marked her body a second more before she nodded her head and he watched her back as she left the newly reconstructed barn. He sat there, taking in the evening events. This part was never supposed to happen. Never, he was sure, for her safety. But she was so surprising, which shouldn't have surprised him to begin with.


	17. Some things we don't talk about

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

  
_

"I'm on my way."

"No, Bruce! Everything's – ."

"This isn't up for discussion, Lois."

Lois bit her lip as she rubbed the tips of her fingers against her forehead, a sense of anxiety creeping over her. She kept her pace quick against the grass, glancing looks toward the barely lit barn and to a candle burning bright in a window of the Kent House.

"Bruce," her lungs widened with a deep breath. "I'm not…with Malcom at Metropolis General."

The second his end went silent she knew she'd crossed one of those lines with him again. She was used to it, lying to him for the sake of being able to chase a lead, but not lying because she didn't trust him. And he knew it. She knew he could sense the difference and there was no marching backwards now, but he would try to deny it, try to give her the benefit of the doubt when he wouldn't anyone else.

"You're not _with_ Malcom?"

"I'm," she wet her lips, "in Smallville."

He breathed a few times against the receiver. She practically felt him clenching and unclenching his fist while brooding at whatever wall was closest.

"Oh."

The single syllable shut her eyes.

"Bruce, I – ."

"Are you with them?"

Her voice was trying to catch and she kicked herself for becoming enraptured in Clent and Clark. Her life wasn't here, not even close, and she wanted to tell him that. She wanted him to know that she was sorry, that she loved him and hadn't meant to hurt him. He wouldn't believe her though, and that, she could tell by the terseness of his words.

"Yes."

"Well then, I guess that's all I need to know. I won't bother you anymore while you're gone."

"No, Bruce! Don't – ."

"'Don't what, Lois?"

"It's complicated, Bruce."

"No, Lois, it's not. I am here in Gotham waiting on you, and you are in Smallville with Clark."

Lois swallowed, shaking her head slightly as she tried to smile.

"You sound jealous, Richboy."

She wanted it to work, like before, like they'd always managed to do. They were good at this – blowing up and then making up two seconds later. It was meaningless this time, and she knew it. She knew it too well.

"Bruce," she whispered, "Can't you trust me?"

Seven seconds. Long seconds of her listening to his silence before his voice opened up rough.

"You're the one not trusting me."

Click.

It echoed smartly in her ear and she didn't believe he'd done it. He'd never hung up on her in three and a half years. Of course, she'd never taken a side against him until now. A gasp escaped her throat.

Lois's hand shook as she brought it to her cheek, cleaning away the salty tear running down from the source of her tear duct. Shoulders sagging, she felt herself backing up to the side of the barn, needing something she could lean on. Her back pressed against the hard wood, and that's when she saw Clent watching her, making no move from his spot on the porch steps.

He must have come out sometime during her short talk, in the middle of the possible collapse of her relationship. If she hadn't been so exhausted, so utterly drained, she'd have yelled at him for all of this. Her life had been fine. Her path had been set.

And then him.

Slowly, he moved away from the porch, closer to her. His steps were soft on the ground and she knew he was gauging her reactions and testing the tepid waters of her emotions. His eyes never left hers and she didn't know whether her breathing was becoming regular because of him or because of the time.

Barely anything between them, Lois couldn't understand it. How could she love one man with so much of her heart, and yet find herself so pulled to another person, nothing else mattered? And for that person to be…Clark, Clark of an elseworld?

"It's okay, Lois."

"No," her head shook. "It's all screwed up."

His heart was breaking, surprising because he hadn't thought there was enough left. Clent eased forward, bracing himself for another touch, for more contact. His hand grazed her shoulder, moving down her upper arm and ending to cup her elbow, small in his hand. There was so much tension roving inside of her, dancing under his fingertips and slowly pouring into him. He wondered if she felt it as his other hand brushed over her hair with a blinding ache that made him grind his teeth so hard he couldn't swallow.

Whether he pulled her into him or she stepped into him, he didn't know or care. All that mattered was that she was there, holding onto him and letting him wrap himself around her like he'd wanted to do since he'd first seen her at her desk. She was so solid beside him, warm skin breathing against his shirt and her heart beating faster against his chest. He pressed her closer to him, unable to stop himself, needing to feel every inch of her melted into his being so he could feel whole again, and it worked. She was here, and she loved him and he loved her.

* * *

Except _she_ wasn't here, and she didn't love him yet, and he didn't know he loved her.

* * *

Closing his eyes tightly, fighting to hang onto the dream and not remember the reality, he let his hand run back and forth across her back.

"Everything will work itself out, Lois. You'll see."

"You don't know. You don't understand," she whispered.

"But I do. I already know how it all turns out, remember?"

She didn't want to talk about it anymore. It didn't feel right to talk with Bruce about Clark or Clent about Bruce. Her mind knew they were two separate things, two absolutely innocent topics, but her heart kept telling her something was wrong. Something wasn't fair.

"This isn't right," she whispered.

Clent felt his breathing stop and his body freeze as still as a statue. It hurt him to stop. It hurt him to keep going. He resigned himself to just accepting the pain either way it came because it meant she was still breathing and causing hell.

She stepped away from Clent's body, untangling his arms around her and taking a deep breath of the air suddenly enveloping her. She ignored the look that crossed his face, disappointment and hurt, sure that she'd imagined it.

"Look," she threw her hands in front of her, "I just want to let you know, that I understand why you didn't tell me. I mean, if you'd have found me and told me Clark was the Red-Blue-Blur and that you were Clark from a different world, I would've sent you outside with a straight jacket."

"I'm," he cleared his throat. "Glad you understand."

"But," Lois nodded her head for emphasis. "No more lies. From here on out, it's the truth and only the truth so help you."

"Orders are orders, Lane."

There was a stolen look from each of them, and Lois immediately slapped her teeth together as she withdrew a black pair of glasses from her pocket. In her hand they nearly burned and she made sure not to touch the glass as she held it out to him. She noticed he didn't touch her, made sure not to, and it filled her with relief. There was only so much she could process tonight.

"Thank you, Lois."

"You're welcome. Uh," her hands saddled inside the back pockets of her jeans, "I'm going to hit the sack." She lowered a corner of her lips in a humorless draw. "It's been a long day."

* * *

Clent walked into the barn, smelling the new sawdust and remembering the youth he'd had so little of. Walking up the steps, creaking now with age, he saw Clark turn away from the barn window, hands shoved into his blue jeans. Lois had hated it when he brooded.

"How's the view looking these days, Clark?"

A shrug moved Clark's shoulder as he stepped away from the opening in the wall.

"Not bad. Where'd Lois go?"

"Bed, your bed to be exact."

Moving past Clark, Clent made his way to the window and rested his hands on the bottom of the square hole. A bright moon, light wind, short grass, a nice night for revelations.

"I know you're still mad, but I'm not sorry, Clark. Lois needed to know."

Clark stayed silent and Clent blew out a breath.

"Is it really that bad she knows?" He turned his face to look at Clark, waiting for the answer and when his comrade remained silent, he turned back to look outside. "She's stronger than you think. She'll surprise you when you least expect it."

"That's…" Clark frowned, stepping forward with a harsh slide of his feet. He'd heard similar words before, right in this spot, different circumstances a lifetime ago.

"What?"

"She has her own life, Clent. It's not fair of me to ask her to keep this secret and live in constant fear that some psychopath will use her to get to me."

"If there's anyone who can do this, it's Lois. And you need a friend, Clark."

"I guess there's nothing I can do about it now. Except keep an eye on her."

"You wouldn't be Clark if you weren't always trying to save her."

Clark caught Clent's gaze and he couldn't help but feel he was missing something in the statement. His frown deepened as he remembered Lois's words and even though he knew he shouldn't know the answer, he had to ask.

"Lois told me something earlier." He swallowed. "She said your wife died."

Immediately Clent tensed and he shook his head harshly. He was not getting into this can of worms.

"No, no, no, the future is better left unknown."

"No, I know," Clark breathed. "I just, I wanted to know if it was real."

He'd forgotten this side of his younger self. For the first eighteen years of his life he'd been smitten by Lana, pining for her like a puppy, the schoolboy's dream of true love. The happy ever after lost so many times, he'd begun to wonder if his life was destined to be sustained in solitude.

The younger man just wanted to believe in the possibility. That's all he dared hope for – the dream that his life wouldn't be empty and his heart would be full. Clark wanted it so badly, and Clent could almost feel it between his fingers.

Clent searched his double's waiting face. "You've never felt anything more real. She's almost more than your heart can take, more than you believe you deserve, and she loves you for everything you are."

Clark swallowed at the insight, unsure if he'd find the woman Clent had. If he was so late in fulfilling his destiny, had he lost his chance completely? Was it too late for him to be a hero and have love?

"How will I know? When I find her?"

At this, Clent had to smile and before he could stop himself, clapped Clark on the shoulder like their father used to do. Clark's bemused expression forced him to chuckle.

"Don't worry about it, Clark. She's hard to miss."


	18. I wasted so much time staring

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

_

It was high noon when she opened her eyes, body tangled in the sheets and hair thrown over her face. For a second she thought she was home and she smiled at nothing in particular.

"Bruce, I had the weirdest…."

She wasn't home.

Lois sat forward, grasping the sheet around her while she looked about the room. The previous night floated back to her, Clark and Clent, present and future, almost hero and already hero. Bruce. God, Bruce, her eyelids fluttered and her shoulders sagged, his voice as clear as if he was right beside her.

_You're the one not trusting me._

Without thinking she leaned over the edge of the bed and fished for the phone she'd thrown in exhaustion on the floor. Low battery, the warning gave her pause for just a second before she flipped the phone open and pressed the two button. The first ring graveled through; she didn't feel bitter about not having missed messages. The second ring pitted along; she knew he could hold a grudge. The third ring started, halfway through ending in silence as the illumination died and the screen turned blank.

Lois stared at the phone, holding it loosely in her hand, overcome by defeat. The first man in her life to make her feel special and she'd blown it by hanging out with superheroes. A second later her grip tightened as her back straightened. What was wrong with her?

If Bruce Wayne thought he could get away so easily, he had another thing coming because Lois Lane was not giving up without a fight.

* * *

Their voices met her from the kitchen as she walked down the stairs. Clent laughed and Clark made a noise with his throat.

"I am _not_ wearing this."

"It's not that bad, Clark."

"Really?" She could imagine him raising an eyebrow, the skepticism made her smile.

"I've been wearing them for over twenty years."

A beat of silence. "Not the same pair I hope."

Lois walked through the door frame, eyeing the numerous bags of Clark's outing. "What are you two boys yakking about?"

"Lois!" Clark stuffed the topic into a paper bag before turning around. "You're…up."

"Yeah, what'd you…."

She started. She physically could not move an inch of her body as she stared at Clark. Aside from his old attire of blue jeans and red shirt, which she guessed from the faded colors Martha had stored somewhere, there was one obvious difference in his appearance from yesterday.

"What the hell is on your face?"

Clark's hand instinctively checked his features. "What?"

"You've got – got –, "her hand motioned to Clent's face, "glasses!"

"Adorable, right?" Clent interjected.

Clark's smile was a duplicate copy on Clent's face while Lois gained her tongue back and rolled her eyes.

"_No_, I was thinking geeky." She smiled softly. "Totally you, Smallville."

"For your information it's part of my disguise." Clark straightened. "Clark Kent, Daily Planet reporter."

"You've got to be kidding me?!" Lois's laugh rattled through the kitchen and even Clent had to hide a smile behind his smile as Clark shoved the black framed glasses farther up over the bridge of his nose. "They actually hired _you_ back? The most bumbling reporter on the masthead?"

"Aw, Lois, are you worried of the competition?"

Her face dropped instantly as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Please. I bet you're back in the basement aren't you?"

"Well," Clark shrugged a shoulder as he looked away from her. "I have to start somewhere."

"Don't worry, Clarkie."

Lois reached up and ruffled Clark's hair, immediately feeling a flash of warmth stroke through her as her fingers met his soft strands. It was completely new, absolutely awkward, and yet it settled somewhere in the pit of her stomach just like her touches with Clent. She pulled back, suddenly remembering the audience of one. Her smile wasn't as strong as she wanted it to be.

"Looks like you bought the whole town out. I don't even want to know where you got the money."

"Lois."

"Clark."

"You know what?" He reached beyond Clent and grabbed a blue plastic bag. Shoving it on the counter in front of her, he tilted his head. "I got you an extra pair of clothes, the water's finally turned on. Do us all a favor and shower."

Her eyebrow rose as she opened the bag.

"Sweatpants and a t-shirt?"

"My superpowers don't cover your dress size, Lois."

"I figured your powers of observation would, genius."

* * *

The air escaped her lungs rapidly, a huge amount that had been inhaled just seconds before after she'd slammed the truck door behind her. Lois circled the steering wheel in her left hand, gaze moving over the worn leather and inhaling the actual cracks in the dashboard. How they'd gotten the truck and Shelby from Clark's old place to Smallville she didn't know, and honestly, a very insignificant part of her didn't want to know. It was the same part telling her to go back to Gotham.

Of course, the larger, more dominant piece of her was dying to know every detail of Clark Kent's story. She felt more excitement than she'd felt in a long time, and as she threw a guilty glance toward the shopping bag full of battery charger and extra clothes, Lois wondered how much a betrayal this was.

"Hey! Hey!"

Lois started as a man knocking on the window jumped into her thoughts. She shouldn't have wasted time in town. Too many questions were in the people's eyes, and too many revolved around why her and Clark were home at the same time.

"Bang on my window one more time and you'll be gum beneath these tires!"

"You're Lois Lane!" the man shouted again through the glass.

"Nope! Wrong girl!" Lois turned her wrist and the engine roared to life. "Bye now!"

"No! Wait! Sign this for me, please!"

Her mouth opened to dash his dreams at the same time she noticed what the man had slapped up against the window. A newspaper. A Daily Planet newspaper. And a story about a hero.

* * *

He looked absolutely normal sitting at the counter with his head tipped over a toaster. Lois watched Clark from the doorway and fought the smile tugging at her lips. This was what she missed most about him, just the plain normal, boring, things he did when no one was looking.

"What are you doing?"

"Fixing the toaster," Clark mumbled without looking up.

Lois flicked the newspaper against her stomach as she watched him nearly skewer the machine with a screwdriver. Her feet tipped forward before rocking backward again as she clicked her tongue against her teeth.

"Pretty sure you're not supposed to do that, Smallville."

"Is there something you need, Lois? A ride home? Maybe a gag?"

"Where's Clent?"

Clark accidentally pinched the side of the toaster with two of his fingers, denting it sharply. He immediately set about straightening the stainless steel and ignoring the slight jump his stomach had taken.

"Upstairs cleaning the rooms." He paused. "Why?"

"Oh, I thought he might like to see this. _The Red-Blue-Blur lives_."

Lois nearly imagined Clark's neck snapped with the speed he looked up at her finally. She pressed the paper onto the counter and leaned her elbows on the ink smelling print.

"'A man and son traveling to Denver, Colorado were saved by an anonymous hero who used unhuman strength to peel back the car they were driving from a tree. The same hero then disappeared, streaking into the distance like a blur.'"

"This is today's paper?"

"No, it's tomorrow's. This isn't Early Edition, Smallville."

Stifling the urge to roll his eyes, Clark merely sighed as he tried to pick up the paper. His hand was slapped by Lois's and she nodded her head in the direction of the glasses forgotten on the counter.

"Keep your cover, Kent."

Clark picked up his glasses from the counter and shoved them onto his nose. He snagged a corner of the paper and swung it toward him so he could read it.

"'One can only hope the Blur hasn't forgotten about Metropolis and that his disappearance was for a greater good we can not yet know.'"

He looked up, finding her watching him with a curious gaze. Whether she was thinking about his reasons for leaving or his reasons for coming back, he didn't know, but whatever her thoughts were, it was almost like she was seeing him – all of him – for the first time.

"You're really going to do this?" she asked softly. "Announce yourself to the whole world?"  
Something in her tone caused him to lean back slightly, and it was only when she glanced down to the counter that he realized it was fear. She was afraid for him? The indestructible man?

"You're not worried, are you?"

"Of course not." Her eyes flashed when she found his stare again. "I just want to make sure my source is reliable."

"Right."

"Right," Lois agreed.

Halted stillness walked between them; it always did. Clark cleared his throat.

"Lois," he stopped and he didn't know what to say.

"I'm not a mind reader, Clark."

"You, uh," he frowned softly. "You haven't asked what exactly I can do…."

"I didn't," she sighed hotly. "I don't want to push you, Clark. Not if you're not ready. You're such a girl like that."

This time it was him seeing her for the first time. Four years ago she no doubt what have demanded him to show her his powers, and here she was now, willing to wait. Exhilaration flared through him, for the first time in a long while feeling fun. He grinned at her unknowingly as he beckoned her to follow him outside.


	19. Pick up my heart that you left there

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

_

"Do it again."

He couldn't help himself again, grinning at her upbeat mood and enjoyment of his displays. She was absolutely enthralled, captivated, completely unafraid. He was on top of the world.

Clark grabbed another piece of bread and concentrated his heat vision on it, waiting for the bread to turn brown and crispy as if made for the morning breakfast. It only took seconds, and then she snatched the toast from his hand.

"Lois! Be careful."

She ignored him, amazingly.

"Wait a minute. If you can do this, it means Clent can do it, so," Lois frowned. "Why do you need to fix the toaster?"

"You don't have heat vision."

It'd never occurred to her that he was doing something for her. Lois nearly smiled as she stared up at him in surprise, trying to tell herself he would have done the same for anyone. This was boy scout Clark after all, but she couldn't believe it, or perhaps the truth was she didn't want to believe it. Someone had actually thought about her. _Clark_ had thought about her.

"I mean," Clark shifted on his feet. "Unless you're going to end my misery and leave soon."

"Now why would I go and do a thing like that? Buck up. I'm going to be here a while."

"Why?"  
He wanted to know. He didn't care what she said, as long as she said anything. In the space of a heartbeat he realized he wanted her here while he trained. He wanted to know she was cheering him on and kicking his ass if he slacked off. It made no sense, but not much in his life had. Maybe Clent was right. He needed a friend. He needed her.

Again, the same question Clent had asked of her in the hotel. And again, there wasn't an answer she could give that would sound right to her. Lois knew that. She knew that the right thing to do was to return to Gotham and mend the bridge with Bruce. She knew that staying here with Clark and Clent was a step towards something she didn't have a clue what it was. And yet she kept finding herself walking farther from what she'd known and closer to the unknown. It was as if she had no choice.

"I'm an army brat, Clark. Who better to make sure you're in shipshape condition?"

"I'm not so sure I like the idea of you as...my general."

"Really? Because I kind of _really_ like it. Now come on. Show me something else."

* * *

"Okay," Lois laughed as she numbered off with her fingers. "Heat vision. Super speed. Super breath. Super strength. Invincibility."

"Yeah, and by the way, thanks for that hit. I _was_ going to save that pipe for the bathroom."

"Oh, don't be such a big baby about it."

"If I'd have been a normal person you might've killed me!"

"But," Lois grinned as she sat on a square bail of hay in the barn, "you're not normal so it's alright."

Seeing her so smug made him raise an eyebrow when he slipped his glasses back on. He'd give her a doozy then.

"Fine. I have x-ray vision."

Lois's smile dropped slowly and she very subtly brought her hands to her chest. "Ah, explain that one to me."

Clark smiled, folding his arms over his chest as he slightly lowered his head just for effect.

"I think it's pretty self-explanatory."

"Hey! Eyes up, Sparky!"

"It's not like that, Lois." He sighed. "I have to concentrate."

"And you're not…concentrating now?"

"No," Clark's lips twitched and she didn't like it one bit. "Not on that."

She punched him square on the shoulder, habit really. He flinched in surprise.

"Kent!"

"What?"

"You just said you were concentrating – ."

"On your heart beat!"

"My heartbeat?"

There it was again, faint in the background without even focusing and growing louder as he concentrated on the sound and its rhythm. She was watching his face, trying to tell if he was being honest or jerking her chain. He took one heavy step closer to her, his boots scuffling across the dusty floor and not coming close to shutting out her heart. Her body tightened and he could feel her trying to decide whether or not to step back or stay still. She surprised him then. Her chin rose as her feet took a soft step toward him.

"You were listening to my heart?"

"Yeah," Clark burrowed his brows. "I didn't even realize I was doing it until it started racing."

Like it was now. The cadence had quickened considerably, almost as if she was jogging and preparing herself for the last sprint. He looked into her eyes, trying to see if he could find anything in her face that would give him a reason, but all he saw was his reflection in her pupils. No thought propelled him another step closer but he moved nonetheless, drawn just like yesterday when she was saying goodbye and he'd finally been her Clark from her memories. Was it really just yesterday?

Or was it was shy over four years ago and the music playing around them was bittersweet, melodic, drowning. He hadn't heard her heart then, not when he suddenly looked down at her and she was _Lois_. It'd been building so slowly, growing when he wasn't looking, and it was only when she was in his arms that he saw it clearly. Possibility. Them. Lois and Clark.

"Where's Lana?"

Her feet swept back, gaining distance from him as she smoothed the front of her shirt across her abdomen. Her heart was erratic and he didn't know why. He fought the need to walk to her, keeping his boots glued to the spot they were in. This wasn't right. She was Lois, not _Lois_. There was no them, no possibility. She hated him and he hated her; that's how they were made.

"What?" he asked. "I told you yesterday it's over."

"It's _always_ over with you two." Lois rolled her eyes. "But once things cool down, you both see reason and remember how happily in love you are. You always told me she was your soulmate."

"I'm not so sure I believe in soulmates anymore."

"Clark Kent, the non-believer?"

"Not everyone's as lucky as you and Bruce."

His gaze didn't fail to catch the ring finger of her left hand shift against the other and he was suddenly thrown back to her younger face and lighter hair telling him she wasn't destined for Oliver Queen like he was with Lana.

"I've messed everything up so far, Lois. What if I can't fix it all?"

She assigned the multitude of emotions she'd felt minutes ago to the rush of seeing Clark's powers in action. Her brain was just addled, taking everything in, processing. She caught his eyes and they looked so much like Clent's she knew she had to give him an answer and leave.

"You will."

* * *

Clent recalled many weekend mornings waking up this room. It'd only been after Lois had moved his things into the master bedroom, putting her foot down that she was no longer sharing the cot in his old bedroom, that he'd slept here. The sun had always woke him, just before the rooster crowed and Lois rolled over beside him. That first morning had been the best morning of his life. She was absolutely grumpy and mumbling in her sleep, her hair crossed every which way. He'd smiled when she'd burrowed under the cream colored covers, closer to his body.

"Hey, Clent." Clark stopped in the doorway of his parent's bedroom and frowned at Clent. "Wow, it's exactly like I remember it."

"I think it's time you and Lois move in here."

"Uh, what?"

"I mean," Clent touched the side of his glasses, "have her help you move in here."

"Why would I move in here?"

With a smile escaping his lips, Clent shrugged his shoulders.

"So you don't have to sleep on the couch? Look, mom and dad aren't here anymore and I don't think they envisioned you sleeping in your old room for the rest of your life. While you're here in Smallville, this could be your room."

"I don't know." Clark finally stepped inside and looked around. "It still feels like their room. I guess I…."

"You guess what?"

"I guess I thought if I ever moved in here it'd be with Lana."

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Clent sighed as he watched Clark touch the few things that remained of their parents.

"She…she has her own destiny, Clark."

"No, I know," Clark turned around and leaned on the dresser. "I think I do, at least."

"You think?"  
They stared at each other.

"She's been the biggest part of my life. I can't just let go of it in a day."

It was a big step, Clent knew. The younger man was slowly getting to the point he needed. And after watching him and Lois all day, he knew it was just a matter of time before Clark realized Lois was the one. What would it hurt to open Clark's eyes just a little more?

"Did you have fun today, Clark?"

"What does that have anything to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question. And be honest."

"Well," Clark reflected on the day. Lois's raised eyebrow, the following gasp, a chuckle here and there, and even the unabashed curiosity as she nearly plundered a pipe into his shoulder. "Lois wouldn't stop talking, or laughing at me, or trying to kill me." He sighed as Clent lifted his brows in anticipation. "Yeah, it was a good day. Why?"

"When was the last time you felt like that with Lana?"

Clark opened his mouth and shut it just as quickly as he raised his hand.

"Wait," he scoffed. "You're not trying to tell me that…Lois and I…."


	20. Me and you together this is better

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

_

Clent couldn't help it, being around Lois too long. He stilled his body before gravely nodding his head and watched as Clark's face grew ashen. He remembered that look, the one Jimmy had seen in the office after Lois had been released from the hospital and immediately went to the Planet.

_"So," Jimmy started casually, leaning back in his chair. "When are you going to ask her out?"_

_"What? Who?"_

_"You know who."_

_Clark followed Jimmy's gaze to Lois sitting at her desk, arm still in a sling. Watching her type one handed and sighing in frustration would have made him laugh if Jimmy hadn't poisoned his mind._

_"Lois? Jimmy, maybe you should be the one in the hospital."_

_"You can't tell me you haven't thought about it."  
"I haven't. And if I ever do, shoot me."_

_Jimmy eyed him from across his desk and caused __Clark__ to shift in the stolen chair from the desk beside Jimmy's._

_"You're really going to let Superman steal her away, C.K.?"_

_"Superman?" __Clark__ scoffed. " And Lois? Jimmy, this guy fell out of the sky two days ago."_

_Smiling, Jimmy slid a photograph to __Clark__. Taken earlier, right after Lois had been saved, it showed the notorious hero gazing softly down at the smiling reporter in his arms._

Deciding to put Clark out of his misery, Clent laughed. Maybe he wasn't so ready to hear the truth.

"Sorry, Clark. I just wanted to see how you'd react."

"What?" Clark sighed in relief, bringing a hand around his neck. "Very funny, Clent."

"Oh, come on. What's wrong with Lois?"

"Other than the fact she's the devil incarnate?"

"That's probably why she's your best friend."

"Lois is not my best friend."

"She will be."

Clark frowned deeply. "I'm not sure that's even possible."

"I don't know. I've never seen you smile this much."

"That's not saying much, Clent."

"Maybe not." Clent shrugged. "But I know you well enough to see the difference when you're with Lana and when you're not. She never really accepted you, not like you wanted. She needed to be your equal, but you don't need a woman with a power suit to compensate for her fears, to be your equal."

It made sense. Clark couldn't deny that, and he couldn't help but feel like something had lifted from his shoulders. He didn't have to look out for Lana, protect her. He didn't have to feel like he had to be by her side no matter what. He didn't have to be sorry the feelings he'd once had for her were slipping away.

"I don't know how I'm going to tell her it's over."

"Be honest."

Clark looked down at his hands, something on the tip of his tongue and having to do with fearing what Lana would do in the future. He buried it, refusing to believe someone so full of good would ever turn against him.

"I only wanted to make things easier on everyone. I ended up doing the exact opposite."

"We all make mistakes, Clark. Just learn from them."

* * *

Clark hung the last of his shirts in the closet, empty of anything Martha and Jonathan, along with the room. Lois had placed the few forgotten pictures in the living room, and then promptly settled on the bed while Clark moved his belongings in.

"You have the most boring room in Smallville."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, it matches your personality."

He rolled his eyes, pretending to be aggravated, annoyed at her remarks like he used to. Looking around the room, he couldn't not agree with her, but he wasn't about to admit it out loud. Instead, he walked over to the bed and looked down at her reclining form stuck in the middle of the bed, arms behind her head and ankles crossed.

She'd avoided him at the first. Clark knew it was because of the barn, of his demonstration of his hearing. She must have felt the same he had, that same pull which didn't exist, couldn't exist, between them.

"Does that mean your room is littered with Whitesnake posters and week old sandwiches?"

Lois smiled and closed her eyes.

"I can't believe you remember my Whitesnake dedication."

As if he could forget anything regarding Lois Lane. Clark looked at the empty spot on the edge of bed, feeling like he wanted to lie down and rest on the royal blue cover. It _wasn't_ because of her. It _was_ because he was tired and he had a long night ahead of him. Slowly, he sat down, the squeak of the aging bed proclaiming his weight. He felt her legs shift, right behind his back her ankles crossed in the opposite direction as before.

"I also remember you superglueing Jimmy's camera strap to his desk."

"Oh, god," Lois laughed, shaking the bed slightly. "I forgot all about that. He was in such a hurry."

"He's lucky he didn't bang his head on the corner."

"Right, says the lookout guy."

"You threw me into the position."

"You liked it!"

"No, you liked it."

The smile lingered on his face as he turned his head toward her. The sunlight from the open windows poured over her and he had a random thought that she'd never like to sleep here. It left as soon as it came, adding to Clark's cacophony of emotions.

"He's not going to believe you're back, Smallville."

"What?"

Lois opened her eyes and found him staring down at her. She frowned.

"Jimmy, he's going to have a coronary when you show up for work."

"He's still at the Planet?"

"He practically lives there ever since…."

"Since what?"

How had they not gotten to this, she wondered. Lois brought her hands down and placed them over her abdomen, nervous with the news.

"You didn't hear?"

Clark nearly told her yes, yes, he knew most of if all. He tucked his chin slightly and shook his head.

"I never heard anything, Lois."

A second passed and she could have sworn the world turned silent in response to her hesitation.

"A few months after you left, Jimmy divorced Chloe. She ran off with Davis Bloome."

"What?"

"Jimmy…he wasn't the same after…the attack. Chloe threw herself into her work, and into finding you. I don't think either of them realized how hard it would be. And then things with Davis didn't end well."

"What happened?"

"I don't know the whole story. Chloe came to me one evening and said she couldn't trust him anymore. I never got anymore out of her and I've never heard of Davis again. She works with Oliver now in Metropolis, doing some kind of secret computer work. I've tried calling her but, like usual, she doesn't pick up." She wet her lips. "I'll have to talk to her before you can see her."

"She hates me too?"

"That's kind of my fault."

"I don't know if she'll forgive me, then."

"Listen," Lois slapped her hands against the bed spread. "If you can get in my good graces, you can get in Chloe's."

"That does give me some hope."

"Good, just don't expect miracles."

"I thought Jimmy and Chloe….They've loved each other for so long."

"Love isn't always enough." Her eyes looked away to the ceiling. "Trust me."

There went that strange flare widening through him. He ignored it again.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Bruce is ignoring my calls."

"Why?"

"Because," she sighed. "I'm here."

"I somehow think there's more to it."

Turning her look back to him, she didn't know how to explain it to him. Bruce was… nearly two different men. One was loud, affable, free living. The other was dark, mysterious, dangerous. Both needed honesty, loyalty, truth.

"The Bruce in the press, that's not really him."

"You mean there's more behind that pretty face?"

"You don't cross Bruce. You get one chance with him and that's it. I've known him for four years and sometimes I don't think I have a clue of who he is."

"But you love him."

"He's so driven," she smiled. "I've never met anyone more determined to get something done. He's going to clean up Gotham, with or without the help of the Batman."

"I've heard about him too."

"He's more famous than you."

"He's dangerous."

"That's what Bruce says, too." Lois thoughtfully tapped her fingers against her stomach. "That Batman doesn't have anyone to hold him back. He'll do whatever it takes. He's not a hero."

"What do you think?"

"I think…it's hard to understand what it must be like to be so alone in a city full of hopeless people who still want something to believe in."

A crease threatened to settle in his forehead. She was being so open, understanding completely without realizing it, almost as if she was meant to see the life as clear as it was. "You're full of surprises, Lois."

"Yes, I am."

Clark chuckled at her smug look and nearly brought his hand to land on her knee. He caught himself before he did it by standing up.

"That's how I know he can't ignore you forever."


	21. Just let me burn the night away

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

_

His steps rocked slowly down the steps and Lois crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for him to appear behind the partition. From her seated position Clent nearly looked like a giant when he finally visualized, blue shirt over dark blue jeans.

"Clark's going to be just a minute, Lois."

"Are you avoiding me?"

He blinked. "What?"

"You've barely said two words to me today."

Clent took a step forward. "You've been with Clark all day."

Swiftly, she stood and walked closer to him, still feeling the web of his pain somehow attempting to grab her.

"Something's different now."

"Nothing's different, Lois."

Omission was the same as a lie. He knew that, but he couldn't tell her he was trying to spare himself the pain again. He wasn't ready to lose her twice, no matter if she wasn't really his to begin with. Shaking his head, Clent stepped away from her.

"I could never avoid you, Lois. But I'm not supposed to be here. Do you understand that? If I didn't have to be here you'd already be…."

"Be what?"

"I," he took a breath in and slowly exhaled it. He wanted to tell her so badly, so much that he was sure it would explode out of him. "I can't tell you."

"And that means you suddenly have to stay away from me?"

"No, it's just easier."

"Damn it, Clent! I don't understand."

Without thinking he caught her cheeks with his hands. He felt the heat spread through his palms, the flutter as her heart skipped a beat. If his life depended on it, and it had before, he probably couldn't have relinquished his hold on her skin. Touching her was being alive again. It was breathing in her humanity and feeling like he had a place in a world that had only adopted him. He was hers, absolutely and utterly.

Lois had that same never-felt-this-way-before feeling and even though she knew she should feel guilty, she couldn't. His pain faded, not completely, but she felt it lessen and become replaced by another feeling. Something about the way he was looking at her reminded her of the first day he'd found her. It was like he barely believed she was in front of him, as if she wasn't real. Maybe she was a ghost.

"You're so impatient," he whispered. A smile passed his lips.

And then something else tugged at her, gentler and much more timid coming in a different direction. In one moment she somehow belonged to Clent and in the next she felt the edge of an imperfect fit. This was Clark. She didn't love Clark, elseworld Clark or this world Clark. She couldn't, not in a million years. She pulled out of his touch, the sting continuing in both of them.

"What's – ." Lois didn't finish, Clark's quickened steps singing through the air.

Clent cleared his throat, stepping away from Lois's body and toward Clark's form.

"You ready, Clark?"

"Yeah."

Staring closely at Clark, Clent pursed his lips. "You're not wearing it are you?"

"I didn't see the need to."

"Clark!"

"What's the point? I can't fly yet."

"The point is that you're trying to establish a double identity. One that's as far away from Clark Kent as possible."

There was more to Clark's defiance than his vanity. More than anything he was afraid, unsure. Putting the suit on, owning the colors and fabric, it meant more than just wearing an outfit. It would be his symbol, the thing people would look for, remember him with. Taking this step meant holding the responsibility of the world, and he was sure he would fail. He'd failed so many so far without meaning to.

"You were born for this." Clent straightened his shoulders. "Here's your proof."

Lois watched Clark's eyes slowly brighten and his stance strengthen. It was strange, the transformation she witnessed, and she nearly felt herself smile for no reason. Before her mouth could say anything, a rush of blue sucked her forward and then Clark was back in his spot, patting the front of his t-shirt down. Her vision caught a bulge on his back and her feet carried her body toward him with barely a thought.

"Lois, what are you doing?"

"Calm down, Smallville." Lois frowned, her hand roving over his suddenly tense back. "I'm not feeling you up."

"Could've fooled me. Ow! What are you doing?"

Not answering him, she pulled on the simple hem of his shirt and tugged it up his back in a swift movement. Clark turned too fast for her and he reached for her wrists to steady her, letting her fall into him just barely. She let him hold her skin longer, mind focused more on the red fabric sweeping behind him.

"Is that a…cape?"

His hands released her, finding themselves more preoccupied with stuffing his red cape back into his normal clothes.

"Yes."

"Let me see it."

"See what?"

Her look burned at him and he sighed in response.

"Not yet, Lois."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

"Really?" Lois stepped closer to him. "You just said that. To me?"

Clark fought the smile biting the edges of his lips. "I did. What are you going to do about it?"

"You've let this superhero business go to that little peanut brain, Smallville."

"Well, me and my peanut brain are leaving. To you know, save lives."

"You do that," Lois tilted her head. "And remember, run _to_, not away from the action."

They stared the other down, and looking in on them, Clent nearly heard his bones creak with age. Two years. Just two years older than he was when she died, and here he stood, feeling more ancient than the stars. The two people in front of him were just at the start, still fresh, full of so much life and adventure.

"Hey, Clent?"

He shook his head, Clark's voice sounding worried and Lois's face lined with the beginning of worry.

"Sorry," Clent smiled at the pair before taking a step to Lois. "I guess the tights are making both of us uncomfortable."

Clark choked. "Clent!"

"Smallville's wearing tights?" Lois laughed behind her hand and disregarded Clark's harmless glare. "Now, I _have_ to see this."

"Sorry, Lois." Clark slapped Clent's shoulder and pulled him along toward the door. "We're leaving. If you get the urge to cook, remember not to use water on grease and there's a fire extinguisher under the cabinet."

* * *

The patrol was different this time. Clark nearly felt the electricity running through the air, or maybe through him and transferring to the wind around his body. His feet were lighter, faster, keeping up with an airborne Clent.

"Two blocks east." Clent's voice shaped to his ear. "Hear it?"

He did. Two men whispering to the other, the sound of metal clinking together, the hush of a night stuck in slumber. He hid himself in the dark and spoke.

"Interrupting anything important, guys?"

The taller man turned, a flash of cold metal at his side as he straightened from his crouch. The smaller man froze in his spot, hands forgetting their wrestling with the lock of a home's door.

"Okay, pal! Step away and no one gets hurt! Meaning you!"

Clark stayed in the shadow of the apartment complex, hands loose against his chest.

"I think your friend needs some help breaking in," Clark tsked.

"Why don't you come out and help him, then?"  
"I thought you'd never ask."

He leaned off the building and entered the glow of the backlight, by this time growing more proud of his suit than before. The look of confusion on the duo's faces made him want to look down – not a mistake he was willing to make again.

The taller man yelled, "Who the hell are you?!"

"I'm the Red-Blue-Blur."

"I can't believe it," the smaller man voiced. "The Red-Blue-Blur got us."

"The Red-Blue-Blur is dead, idiot!"

Tall-man fired his weapon, three shots in quick succession that hit Clark center of his chest. The ricochet was quiet, and the silence soon after was deafening.

"No," Clark, amazingly calm, walked closer to the open mouthed would be robbers. "He's not."

* * *

Enjoying the brief break, Clent and Clark sat on The Daily Planet's roof. Sitting on the higher step, Clent leaned his elbows on his knees.

"Your time out west wasn't a total waste. Good job tonight, Clark."

"Thanks." Clark looked over at his street clothes resting on a bench in the corner. "And I have to admit, the suit was a good idea."

"My ideas usually are."

"You're starting to sound like Lois."

"That's what everyone says."

Clark felt his brows move into a frown. There it was, one of those innocent future comments that made absolutely no sense. It opened his curiosity.

"What _is_ Lois up to in your world?"

"Ah," Clent tensed, "I really can't – ."

"I know. But I was just thinking, knowing Lois, if she's your best friend, she'll be looking for you."

His fingers more fascinating, Clent laced them together. She would. If she were alive, she wouldn't sleep for days. She'd give everyone hell, and they'd take it, take because they all knew the lengths Lois and Clark would go to. Even when he was dead she'd never given up. All that time she spent without him, and she'd never wavered in her faith no matter how many others did. And that look. That look she'd give him when he came back to her, worse for wear but alive, it was the breath returning back to his lungs. Each and every time he was taken from her, he always found his way back to Lois.

_She wasn't real, couldn't be. And she couldn't be crying, not alone, not on the roof with the globe behind her._

_ His hand dropped from the door handle and he was scared for the first time in months because it felt so much like one of his dreams. His nightmares._

_"Lois?"_

_Her back straightened and the hair of her ponytail swiveled around her face as she suddenly faced him._

_"Would you leave me alone?! Just stop it! I can't take it anymore!"_

_Clark__ continued to stare at her, caught up in her beauty and the voice that had become his conscience. It was her. It was her._

_"Didn't you hear me?! I don't want anything to do with you!" Her finger met his chest. The glare met his eyes. "You're an impersonation! You're not Superman and I know it!"_

_Watching her chest heave, he nearly smiled. She was so impatient. And so was he. He caught her wrists before crushing his lips onto hers. She fought him, just a second, and after that he knew she had figured it out. _

So much. Clent closed his eyes. He missed her so much.

"Yeah, she will."


	22. There's no place for these illusions

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

_

A sigh blew from her lips as her back ungracefully met the cushions of the soft sofa and she flung an arm over her eyes. Almost o-two-twenty-five, her mind was steadily reaching a jerking stop and she could feel it sucking the energy from her body. Lois heard the rush of her blood flowing through her veins and arteries, thick and heavy. The sound made her think of Clark, of his abilities.

Who knew Clark was so…extraordinary? Retarded, but so gifted. He was a meteor freak, a hero, a pain in the ass. He'd always managed to get under her skin when she least expected it, giving her chills, burrowing deeper to become the permanent thorn in he side, making her nervous.

Like the afternoon, listening to her heart beat. Knowing he was concentrating on her small, weak, heart, she couldn't explain it – the rush of excitement she was beginning to feel around him. Maybe it was because she knew his secret. It might've been the thrill of being part of his beginning. Then again, perhaps it was only because of Clent.

That just happened to be a whole other can of worms she didn't even want to think about this late at night. Her mind closed the cabinet harshly and picked up something else. Smallville. A red cape. Tights.

Lois smiled in the dark, trying to picture Clark walking around with the long cape and trying not to trip. The farmboy from Smallville certainly had wardrobe problems, not that she hadn't known that for years, but tights, really? Fitting her body closer into the bend of the sofa, she yawned and closed her eyes. Her hands still felt the cape sliding through her fingers and at the moment, she nearly imagined the fabric swallowing her whole. A fear began, somewhere in the back of her throat as she fought the scream. The vision tightened around her and all she saw was red. She breathed red. She felt red.

A nightmare, the same nightmare as before where the faceless man with a red cape came upon her. As soon as it began it stopped, leaving her empty, alone. Lois opened her eyes in a flashing second that caused the nightmare to stick with reality.

_'I don't believe in fortune tellers. The last one I went to said I was destined to fall for a guy who flies a lot and likes to wear tights. So, I'm just waiting for my cross dressing pilot to make his landing.'_

* * *

"It's weird," Clark stood, "being back here."

Clent followed Clark's gaze to the spinning globe, both of them stepping into the flood of memories released by the benign symbol.

"I didn't realize how much I really loved my job." Clark turned around. "Lana…thought it was better to stay hidden, just in case."

"You wish you hadn't?"

"I wish a lot of things."

Hand patting the empty space of the step he'd claimed, Clent waited for Clark to sit beside him. They shared a glance before both looked off in different directions.

"Clark, it sounds like you have a few regrets. I think it's time you let them go."

"You don't understand, Clent." Biting his teeth together, Clark looked down at the floor, collecting his thoughts. "If I would've stayed, I wouldn't need you here."

"Maybe."

"Chloe and Jimmy would still be together."

"Maybe."

"Oliver would have had his justice team."

"Maybe."  
"Lois wouldn't have hated me."

"Maybe."

"I could've saved mom."

"How did she die?"

"How did yours?"

"Old age. She passed away in her sleep a year after dad died."

"Old age?" Clark turned his head. "My dad died around six years ago."

Clent blinked. "What happened?"

"I…killed him."

A statement like that, from Clark Kent nonetheless, made Clent uneasy. He fought the shift in his body.

"Clark, what does that mean?"

"I tried to change the past and he was– ."

"The consequence," Clent finished. "Why would you do that, Clark? You know that's dangerous."

Clark exhaled heavily, a shake of his head drifting the air.

"I know. I know."

"Why, Clark?"

"I had to save Lana."

* * *

Clent resisted the urge to smack his other self in the head. If his Lois were here, she would have. Instead, he resigned himself to the fact that the damage was done and no amount of head hitting or name calling would change it.

He sighed. "She died, and you reversed it."

"I had to. I loved her."

"I guess you must have."

"You didn't?"

"She was…the girl next door."

A world where he didn't insanely love Lana? Clark frowned, his boot scraping against the floor. Nearly the whole of his life had been dedicated to pursuing the girl, keeping her safe, being hers, and there Clent was, absolutely oblivious to the love he could have had. Then his mind hushed itself, and where he thought Clent had missed out, he thought that maybe they were reversed in their positions. Clent had left unscathed, leaving Clark to bear the scars of something that should never have been. A waste. _A waste of more than eight years, __Clark__, _he thought.

"I should have done what you did and trained at the Fortress when Jor-el told me to."

"Clark," Clent sighed, a long sound that he couldn't contain. He watched Clark's hands dangle between his knees, faulty and lifeless. "I know that, it's easy to blame yourself for everything that goes wrong. But not everything is your fault. We all play a role in what happens and sometimes, no matter what you do, the end is always the same. You've made mistakes, big mistakes."

Clark's head hung lower.

"But you get a second chance. Not many do."

"I still," Clark closed his eyes and felt his throat begin to pulsate. "I don't know if I can do this."

Two worlds apart, their fears were absolutely the same. Clent put his hand on Clark's shoulder, calmly waiting for the man to look at him. Looking into his eyes, Clent saw the bridge on the brink of collapse. Just a little more and maybe Clark's guilty past would be nothing more than a ghost which lost its flesh. It would be bearable then, and that was all either could ask for.

"Clark, you'll always wonder if the world would be better without you. You'll think your humanity is damning. That you can't do enough. It's not easy. Sometimes, it'll be impossible. But the people who love you, they pick you up no matter why you've fallen, and without them, you wouldn't be half the man you are."

"You mean the hero."

"I mean the man."

Seconds passed while Clark made up his mind, the door shutting on the closet and him placing the key in his pocket as the only reminder. He'd made his bed. He'd lied in it, and now he was ready to get up again. After all, where had his guilt and mooning got him? Not just nowhere, but backward. Clent had faith in him, knew what he was capable of, and nothing else mattered. He could do it. He would do it.

"Okay," Clark nodded his head. "Okay."

* * *

The morning started bright and early for mild mannered reporter Clark Kent.

"Gotham makes a giant flashlight for a shadow puppet and suddenly every reporter thinks they'll get fame and fortune by moving there."

Perry White, hands shoved into his pockets and back to Clark, turned around from the window. Clark immediately improved his posture, almost feeling the urge to salute.

"You better be glad we're running on bare cylinders or I'd never given you this job."

"I am, sir."

Nearly scowling at him, Perry made a tsking sound with his tongue. Clark, mindful of his glasses taking a small dip down his nose, refused to push them up.

"Looked at your references. You, ah, worked with that Lane girl?"

"Yes, I did…sir."

"Hhmm," he studied the young man in front of him, wondering if he was as useless as he looked. Who knew, maybe the kid would surprise him. "She used to be a fine reporter, real ambition, gumption." He scoffed as he tore his hands out of his pockets and sat down at his desk. "Course now she's one of them wackos out in Gotham."

Clark smiled against his better judgment. Lois' mentor calling her a wacko. Priceless.

"What the hell are you still doing here?! Go on!" Perry waved his hand. "I'm not paying you to smile at me!"


	23. And I hope you don't change your mind

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

_

The smell hit her first, warm and extremely fine of eggs and bacon mixed with the soft burn of toast. Lois rubbed her palm against her eyes as she stretched her body against the sofa cushions. Quiet whistling came to her ears and she slowly settled into motionless wakefulness, enjoying the subtle sounds of the air. Her apartment in Gotham was loud, cars always passing or planes flying overheard, along with the sirens of patrol cars which had become such a daily custom she nearly felt at a loss without it now.

"Hungry, boy?"

Clent's voice to Shelby was cheerful, relaxed, and Lois felt herself smile wryly. Always the chipper early bird even after a whole night of…fighting crime. Lois's body jumped forward and her eyes flipped wide open as she grabbed her cell phone. Almost ten. She dropped the thing on the table as she fought her way out of the blanket around her, nearly falling onto the floor before running into the kitchen, bare feet halting harshly on the wood.

Clent slightly turned from the stove, hand holding the fork slightly in the air as he looked her over. His brow quirked up.

"Lois, you look horrible."

"When did you come in?"

Frown forming, Clent turned himself to fully face her.

"Three hours ago. You feeling okay?"

Lois drew her lips together in frustration. She'd fallen asleep. She'd actually fallen asleep thirty minutes before they'd gotten back. But now she had Clent all alone, the man with all the answers. Her lips finally relaxed into something close to a smile. She'd have to catch him unawares.

"I didn't sleep so well. My editor's on my ass to finish a few stories I'm working on."

"Oh, well do you want some help?"

"No," Lois sauntered into the kitchen, patting her hair down and hoping he wouldn't get close enough to her to smell her breath. She sat on the stool at the counter. "I should be able to finish them from here. So, how was last night?"

Focus back on the breakfast he was making, his shoulders relaxed under her stare.

"It was really good. I mean, not the number of criminals we caught, but Clark's really finding his element." He threw a smile at her. "You'd have been proud."

"Yeah," Lois drew out, reaching forward for the cup she assumed was Clent's. "All it took was a dimensional tear in the time – space continuum."

Clent turned off the stove and laughed. Shaking his head, he prepared their plates as she scowled.

"What's so funny?"

"Because, Miss Lane, it's incorrect and yet, you say it with conviction. Here."

"You actually," she forked her eggs, "cooked this?"

Sitting opposite her, Clent poured himself a new cup of coffee and smiled at her amused face.

"Do you like it raw these days?"

"I figured you would just, you know, fire different ammo."

He stared at her a long moment in silence before a shrug of his shoulder brought his attention elsewhere, and so she took another bite of her home cooked meal. His hand grabbed the edge of a newspaper and she watched him skim over the front page. In that moment she decided maybe it wasn't so bad, her future, or at least her other world's future with the man opposite her. Besides the fact he was Clark, he was handsome, charming, funny, strong, moral, a hero.

It wasn't until she took a drink of her coffee that she realized she was smiling. The tip of his nose twitched causing his glasses to slide down lower and her smile widened. She could do this for the rest of her life, she thought. There were worse fates than sitting opposite Clark Kent. If she was right, that was.

Leaning forward, Lois gently grabbed each side of his frames and pushed them back onto their rightful place.

His eyes, startled, watched her lean back, still the hint of a smile on her lips. He couldn't help himself then, not when she was so close and his life was just _almost_ right again.

"This was the first time I've cooked the human way since my wife died."

Lois froze, her entire face becoming heavy with the forgotten knowledge. His wife had died. Two years ago. She watched him and instead of thinking she should be grateful it wasn't her, disappointment coursed through her because for a second, everything had fallen into place. She'd been so _sure_. How could all her evidence be wrong?

"Clent?" Her voice nearly choked, stopping when the thickness became too much. His worried frown enveloped her and she didn't want to know. She didn't want to know if she was wrong or right, close to a dream or crazily dreaming. Except she couldn't help it. The whole night she'd been obsessing over this. It wouldn't let her go.

"Your wife? Who was she?"

Something was wrong; he could tell. Her mouth was too worried, eyes too focused, face too weighted.

"Is everything okay, Lois?"

"Yeah," she blinked. "I just, you don't talk about her."

Clent dropped his gaze to his plate and felt the burn of want run in his heart.

"Lo, it's not easy."

"And you don't want to change Clark's future?"

His eyes found her face. "That too."

She looked so confused and disappointed he felt guilty. She had no idea.

"Why are you asking all of a sudden, Lois?"

"I…" Lois exhaled harshly as she felt the red of embarrassment flush over her cheeks. "Ever since the moment you walked into this world, I've been drawn to you. I don't know what it is, but there's something about you that….I just thought that I…." To hell with it. "Who am I to you?"

Every warning bell went off, his throat went dry, and he wanted to tell her. Of all the reasons not to, there was just one reason to forget it all: He missed her. He wanted to share with her the future that could be theirs. But would it change everything? Could he really risk the chance their happiness?

"You're Lois," he whispered.

"The dreams," she shook her head. "The fortune teller, Clark's suit, you being here and looking at me like I'm somebody important. Don't act stupid. You know what I'm talking about. Who am I, Clent?"

He'd honestly thought he could do it, hide such a big thing from her. But she'd figured it out. Clent felt the fork in his grip collapse and soon he threw it down before superspeeding around the counter and turning her in her seat to face him. What could it hurt? She knew now. His hands shook on her shoulders and he knew he was hurting her, but it was either that or kiss her, and he definitely could not do the latter.

"You're my best friend." His voice was hoarse and he brought himself closer to her so she could hear him.

"You're my co-worker." His head dipped lower.

"You're the proverbial pain in the rear." Her eyes widened and he knew he was too close, much too close to her nose, her lips, her eyes. He came lower.

"And I love you. You're my wife and I love you." His nose brushed against hers and he immediately stilled, listening to her heart race and his suddenly stop.

"But you're not my Lois. You're his."


	24. No telling what you'll find there

_Title: We always fail destiny_

_Spoilers: Up to 'Power' then goes AU_

_Disclaimer: Don't own, don't profit.

* * *

_

Lois stared, unable to tear her gaze away from the slamming kitchen door he'd rushed out of minutes ago. She'd been right. She was right. Lois Lane had married Clark Kent, the Red-Blue-Blur, Superman. Her breakfast grew cold and she finally moved, taking her time to the bathroom. The shower running, she still walked in a stupor, closing the shower curtain and listening to the rattle of the rings. Hot water blew onto her body and it burned her flesh the same as her insides.

She _wanted_ to be his wife. She wanted to die, if it meant she would live before that in his arms.

Smallville. Smallville was her destiny. Hadn't she wanted it once? Lois closed her eyes. Of course it was him. He'd saved her, over and over. When trouble came, he was the one she thought of. And at the very end, she'd almost thought she was worth it.

Lois opened her eyes. At the very end, it had been worth it. Something had claimed them and she'd thought of him as _Clark_and really, for a second, she had believed he'd thought of her as _Lois_. Then he'd run away, ignoring the tie that bound him to her, and had never bothered looking back. He'd chosen Lana the last time and ever single time before, and how could she forget that? Because of him she'd made her own life and she loved being in Gotham. She had everything she wanted.

It could have been great, different. She could feel it every time she caught Clent looking at her, each touch he cautiously gave her. It could have been what they'd both been looking for since the beginning, but not now. Not like this. Not after everything. The risk to her heart was too great.

Clark could never know.

* * *

Jimmy Olsen dropped his mouth open and had he not been sitting at his desk, would have more than likely fallen onto the freshly waxed floor. Clark stood tentatively, not knowing where Jimmy's true feelings lay. He watched the blonde man's mouth form into a tight line that surrendered to a full blown smile.

"I knew you'd come back!" Jimmy sprung from his chair and collided with his best friend, momentarily taken aback by how immovable Clark had become. "Wow, CK, are you made of steel or something?"

"It's good to see you too, Jimmy," Clark smiled. "You look exactly the same."

"Well," he stepped back and sat in his chair. "I can't take all the credit for my dashing good looks. There was a magician a few years back who took a liking to me."

"A magician?"

"Yeah, Zatanna was her name. Anyways, one of her spells backfired and," he pointed to his face, "I haven't aged ever since. It should only last a couple more years though."

"You…don't seem very concerned about a magic woman casting a spell on you."

Chuckling, Jimmy shook his head.

"CK, you wouldn't believe the weird things I've seen in the past four years. Never aging, just the least of it. Anyways, come on, spill. How are you? Where've you been?"

"Where've _I _been? Oh, just here and there." The disbelieving look thrown his way made Clark sit on the edge of the desk. "I was trying to live a normal life with Lana."

"Ahhh," he softened his voice. "I'm guessing since you're here now, that life didn't work out so well?"

"No, but it was for the best. What about you? How are things?"

Jimmy dropped his gaze to his camera, safely sitting on his desk.

"You've been gone a long time." He looked at Clark. "No one…meaning Lois specifically, thought you'd come back. I think she took it harder than the rest of us."

Clark frowned. "Really?"

"Come on, Clark." Jimmy sat forward. "You can't really be as blind as that." He watched the frown deepen. "Okay, maybe you can. It doesn't even matter anymore I guess. She transferred over to Gotham a few years ago, got engaged to multi-millionaire Bruce Wayne."

"I heard. It sounds like she's got the life she always wanted."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess so. At least somebody has." Holding up his left hand, Jimmy wiggled his fingers before dropping it back onto his thigh. "Me and Chloe, uh, ended things a few months after you left. I guess we didn't know each other like we thought we did."

"I'm sorry, Jimmy."

"Don't be," he smiled. "It's given me a lot of time to become a better photographer. I'm going to need all the skill I can muster if I'm going to get a bonafide picture of The Red-Blue-Blur."

"The Red-Blue-Blur?"

This time Jimmy's smile was wide as he motioned to the empty desks around them.

"Everyone's out trying to get as much info about last night as they can. The Red-Blue-Blur's back, CK!"

"Back?"

"He disappeared four years ago. No one's heard from him…since…."Jimmy narrowed his eyes. "When did you get back, Clark?"

"Uh," Clark's hand found his tie, "A few days ago."

"Hhmm."

Clark forced a chuckle. "You aren't really thinking I'm the Red-Blue-Blur again are you? I mean, I'm no hero."

"No," Jimmy shook his head. "No, I guess it's just…coincidence."

"Yeah, exactly. Well, I should probably go. Perrry gave me an interview with a Councilman. I think he wants me to crash and burn."

"Okay. But hey, what's with the glasses?"


End file.
